middle ear


nounAnatomy.
  1. the middle portion of the ear, consisting of the tympanic membrane and an air-filled chamber lined with mucous membrane, that contains the malleus, incus, and stapes.

Origin of middle ear

1
First recorded in 1885–90

Words Nearby middle ear

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use middle ear in a sentence

  • In either sex arrested development of the face, middle ear, and palate often coexists with these supernumerary breasts.

    Degeneracy | Eugene S. Talbot

British Dictionary definitions for middle ear

middle ear

noun
  1. the sound-conducting part of the ear, containing the malleus, incus, and stapes

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

Scientific definitions for middle ear

middle ear

[ mĭdl ]


  1. The part of the ear in most mammals that contains the eardrum (tympanic membrane) and the three ossicles (malleus, incus, and stapes) which transmit sound vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear. See more at ear1.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for middle ear

middle ear

A part of the ear on the inner side of the eardrum; it contains three small bones that transmit sound waves to the inner ear from the eardrum.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.