ear to the ground
The practice or characteristic of carefully gathering information; a state or mindset of attentiveness.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Keep your ear to the ground for any news about the new store.”
“As a journalist, she always keeps her ear to the ground to find the most interesting stories in the city.”
“The seasoned investor kept his ear to the ground, carefully monitoring subtle shifts in the market long before his competitors noticed the trend.”
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all ears
Listening intently; fully focused.
- 02
all eyes and ears
Very attentive.
- 03
are your ears burning
Asked of somebody who was not present but was the topic of discussion.
- 04
beat someone round the ears
To beat (a person) with blows about the head.
- 05
believe one's ears
To believe that something which one hears is truly the case.
- 06
bend someone's ear
To bore; to talk too long, especially to one particular person.
- 07
box someone's ears
To slap someone on the side of the head, usually as an informal punishment.
- 08
burn someone's ears
To cause blushing of someone's ears due to strong embarrassment.
Last updated August 10, 2026