headphone

noun

head·​phone ˈhed-ˌfōn 

plural headphones

: an earphone held over the ear by a band worn on the head

—usually plural

So for the gamer to gain that "edge," he must have the best mouse, the smoothest mouse pad or the most sensitive headphones.

—Chris Yong

Strapping on cushy headphones the size of loaves of bread, I'd repeatedly listen to Mingus' "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" and the music of artists such as Jelly Roll Morton and Billie Holiday.

—Robert Wilder

also : a small earphone inserted into the ear : earbud

in-ear headphones

Examples of headphone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Unfortunately, those are the only two USB ports on the laptop, accompanying the headphone jack and HDMI port. —Anshel Sag, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025

The system comes with the DTS:X headphone and speaker codecs for compatible content and MyHP provides music, movie, and voice presets and an equalizer with AI noise reduction. —PCMAG, 22 Feb. 2025

The quick moving crooks tend to steal pricey Beats headphones and Apple Air Pods from their unsuspecting victims, police said. —Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 20 Feb. 2025

For those in the audience at the Donmar Warehouse, headphones were worn to provide an immersive sound experience. —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1908, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for headphone

• alone
• atone
• backbone
• bemoan
• bluestone
• breastbone
• brownstone
• capstone
• cheekbone
• condone
• curbstone
• cyclone

Kids Definition

headphone

noun

head·​phone ˈhed-ˌfōn 

: an earphone held over the ear by a band worn on the head

—usually used in plural