earring
Americannoun
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.
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
“There is the striking fact about gold that every ounce of gold that has ever been dug out of the ground and pounded into an earring or a coin still exists,” says H.W.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 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
Celia reaches up to her left earlobe and releases her drop pearl earring to the sea.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
