Synonyms

tympanic membrane

American

noun

Anatomy, Zoology.

eardrum.

tympanic membrane British

noun

Also called: tympanum. Nontechnical name: eardrum. the thin translucent oval membrane separating the external ear from the middle ear. It transmits vibrations produced by sound waves, via the ossicles, to the cochlea

"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

tympanic membrane Scientific

/ tĭm-păn′ĭk /

See eardrum

Etymology

Origin of tympanic membrane

First recorded in 1855–60

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.

See Examples For:

tympanic membrane

"The ear drum, or tympanic membrane, is a thin, flat piece of tissue that stretches across the ear canal," said Hoberman.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 4, 2024

Presley, R. Lizards, mammals and the primitive tetrapod tympanic membrane.

From Nature ● Nov. 12, 2017

When a microphone was placed in its ear, everyone could hear a ringing tone—the result, it turned out, of an oversensitive tympanic membrane.

From The New Yorker ● Mar. 30, 2015

The outer ear ends at the most superficial layer of the tympanic membrane.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

To vibrate the tympanic membrane and the little ear-bones.

From A Practical Physiology by Blaisdell, Albert F.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023