earshot

[eer-shot]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR earshot ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the range or distance within which a sound, voice, etc., can be heard.

Origin of earshot

First recorded in 1600–10; ear¹ + shot¹

Also called earreach.

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

Related Words for earshot

area, space, spectrum, field, length, scope, territory, dimension, matter, domain, confines, purview, neighborhood, sweep, hearing, sphere, radius, leeway, ambit

Examples from the Web for earshot

Contemporary Examples of earshot

At a Chinese restaurant several blocks away, and out of earshot of the protests, the conversation had carried.
‘They Let Him Off?’ Scenes from NYC in Disbelief
Jacob Siegel
December 4, 2014

Historical Examples of earshot

The moment they were out of earshot Helen turned to her lover.
The Law-Breakers
Ridgwell Cullum
"At your service, sir," said he; and I drew him out of earshot of those others.
Bardelys the Magnificent
Rafael Sabatini
"I can't," said Jeff ruthlessly, when he had got her out of earshot.
The Prisoner
Alice Brown
And now they had walked out of earshot, and I heard no more.
That Boy Of Norcott's
Charles James Lever
"In the variety of knowledge there is safety," he said; and then they passed out of earshot.
An Outcast of the Islands
Joseph Conrad

British Dictionary definitions for earshot

earshot

noun

the range or distance within which sound may be heard (esp in the phrases within earshot, out of earshot)

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 earshot

c.1600, from ear (n.1) + shot (n.) in the sense of "range" (e.g. bowshot).