earring
Americannoun
-
earrings
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of earring
before 1000; Middle English erering, Old English ēarhring. See ear 1, ring 1
Explanation
An earring is jewelry you wear on your ear. Your favorite earrings might be tiny white pearls, or they might be long feathers that dangle to your shoulders. An earring is any kind of ring, stud, hoop, or dangling decoration that you clip on your earlobe or hook through a hole pierced in your ear. Many people wear two matching earrings, one in each lobe, although others have just one pierced ear and wear a single earring — and some have multiple piercings in which they can wear a variety of earrings. In the 18th century, an earring that dangled was called an ear-drop.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
For example, an earring falling into food that you then eat.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
When interviewed for the podcast “Your Own Backyard,” Lassiter said the earring matched the necklace Smart is wearing in photos that went up after her disappearance.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
Earlier this month West Ham's Estelle Cascarino was stopped from coming on as a substitute against Chelsea in the Women's Super League because she was wearing an earring.
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2026
The small canvas shows a young woman set on a dark background, her head turned towards the viewer and a pearl earring glinting from beneath her blue and cream turban.
From Barron's ● Jan. 8, 2026
Cleopatra dropped the earring into the drink and swirled it until the pearl dissolved.
From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby
I was sitting in a packed cruise-ship theater in Grinch pajamas and matching headband, fuzzy red slippers and candy cane earrings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
About a month ago, an artist going by @redteneri posted a drawing on X/Twitter of Harry Potter character Draco Malfoy as a girl with long blond hair, hoop earrings, and green irises.
From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2026
Napoleon gifted the iconic necklace, featuring 32 Colombian emeralds and 1,138 diamonds, along with its matching emerald earrings, to Marie-Louise for their wedding in 1810.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
And, importantly, I wouldn’t have had it if I hadn’t noticed the earrings and said something.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
I can’t take my eyes off the display of earrings, a different color for every month.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
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