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earshot

[eer-shot]
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noun
  1. the range or distance within which a sound, voice, etc., can be heard.
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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. 2018

Related Words

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

Historical Examples

  • 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.

  • "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.

British Dictionary definitions for earshot

earshot

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

n.

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper