rabbit ears
Americannoun
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an indoor television antenna consisting of two telescoping, swivel-based aerials.
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Sports Slang. acute sensitivity to gibes, insults, or sarcasm.
Players with rabbit ears are the favorite targets of bench jockeys.
Etymology
Origin of rabbit ears
First recorded in 1965–70
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.
Maybe, as a few of my younger, smarter colleagues theorized, it’s the phones, which are omnipresent among Olympians, and make their rabbit ears overly attuned to the surrounding chatter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 15, 2026
“Now, if you have a TV with rabbit ears, we’re going to be able to hit 100% of our audience,” Smith said.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 20, 2023
A keychain featuring a playful Choupette — designer Lagerfeld’s pet cat — with rabbit ears commemorates the Chinese New Year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 18, 2023
Sometimes he would command me or my sister to adjust the rabbit ears to get better reception.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 9, 2022
Travis sat with me for a long time teaching me the baby way where you make the rabbit ears.
From "Fish in a Tree" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
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.
