eardrum

[ eer-druhm ]

/ ˈɪərˌdrʌm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR eardrum ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Anatomy, Zoology.

a membrane in the ear canal between the external ear and the middle ear; tympanic membrane.

RELATED WORDS

tympanum

Nearby words

Origin of eardrum

First recorded in 1635–45; ear¹ + drum¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for eardrum

He also failed a drug test and allegedly hit a bouncer so hard he punctured his eardrum.
Sham Classes and Crime Coverups Are the NCAA Normal|Robert Silverman|June 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So do the adjacent molecules of air and so does the eardrum of a listener.
Letters of a Radio-Engineer to His Son|John Mills
Monsieur Le Grand drummed till my own eardrum was nearly cracked.
The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to Prose, Vol. VIII (of X) - Continental Europe II.|Various
When sounds strike the eardrum it vibrates and excites the nerve of hearing.
The Insect Folk|Margaret Warner Morley

Way back inside the ear is a little curtain, or eardrum, made of a thin membrane.
The Insect Folk|Margaret Warner Morley
When the molecules of air next your ear receive the push they in turn push against your eardrum.
Letters of a Radio-Engineer to His Son|John Mills

British Dictionary definitions for eardrum

eardrum

/ (ˈɪəˌdrʌm) /

noun

the nontechnical name for tympanic membrane

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for eardrum

eardrum

1640s, from ear (n.1) + drum (n.).

Medicine definitions for eardrum

eardrum

[ îr′drŭm′ ]

n.

The thin, semitransparent, oval-shaped membrane that separates the middle ear from the external ear.drum drumhead drum membrane myringa myrinx tympanic membrane tympanum

Science definitions for eardrum

eardrum

[ îr′drŭm′ ]

The thin, oval-shaped membrane that separates the middle ear from the outer ear. It vibrates in response to sound waves, which are then transmitted to the ossicles of the middle ear. Also called tympanic membrane

Culture definitions for eardrum

eardrum

The membrane that divides the outer ear from the middle ear. The vibrations of this membrane in response to sound waves lead to the sensation of hearing. Also called the tympanic membrane.