Word.ws English Dictionary

ear to the ground

ear to the ground noun: the practice or characteristic of carefully gathering information; a state or mindset of attentiveness.

Noun

ear to the ground (plural ears to the ground)

  1. (idiomatic) The practice or characteristic of carefully gathering information; a state or mindset of attentiveness.
    • Congress never enacts a measure which is believed to oppose public opinion;—your Congressman keeps his ear to the ground.1903, Charles W. Chesnutt, “The Disfranchisement of the Negro”, in The Negro Problem
    • “There's no telling what a man might happen onto accidentally if he travels with his ear to the ground.”1910, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 3, in A Texas Ranger
  2. (attributive, usually hyphenated) Pursuing the practice or having the characteristic of carefully gathering information; well-informed.
    • The ear-to-the-ground President knew that all the unrest could not be blamed on Communists.1949 August 29, “Chile: Fast Work”, in Time

ear to the ground meaning in Tamil

ear to the ground in Tamil

மிக கவனமாக தகவல்களைச் சேகரித்தல்

Examples of ear to the ground in a sentence

  • The tavern keeper's an old friend of mine—we was shipmates when we was younger—and he sort of keeps his ear to the ground for me.1990, David Eddings, Sorceress of Darshiva, →ISBN, page 148:
  • TIME Justice Department correspondent Elaine Shannon is keeping her ear to the ground as candidates' names start to pop up.2001 May 3, Elaine Shannon, Jessica Reaves, “Who'll Follow Freeh Into the FBI Corner Office?”, in Time:

Forms of ear to the ground

pluralears to the ground

Questions about ear to the ground

What does ear to the ground mean?
Ear to the ground means the practice or characteristic of carefully gathering information; a state or mindset of attentiveness.
What is ear to the ground in Tamil?
Ear to the ground in Tamil is மிக கவனமாக தகவல்களைச் சேகரித்தல். See Ear to the ground meaning in Tamil.
How do you use ear to the ground in a sentence?
The tavern keeper's an old friend of mine—we was shipmates when we was younger—and he sort of keeps his ear to the ground for me.
What part of speech is ear to the ground?
Ear to the ground is a noun.
What is the plural of ear to the ground?
The plural of ear to the ground is ears to the ground.

Words near ear to the ground in the dictionary

  1. ear speakers
  2. ear spoon
  3. ear spoons
  4. ear tag
  5. ear tags
  6. ear to the ground
  7. ear toilet
  8. ear toilets
  9. ear training
  10. ear trumpet
  11. ear trumpets

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ear to the ground (page history and authors); ear to the ground (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-ear to the ground.ogg.

Cite this entry: “ear to the ground.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ear_to_the_ground. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.