middle ear

noun

: a small membrane-lined cavity that is separated from the outer ear by the tympanic membrane and that transmits sound waves from the tympanic membrane to the partition between the middle and inner ears through a chain of tiny bones

Examples of middle ear in a Sentence

fluid in the middle ear

Recent Examples on the Web

Doctors repeatedly injected the steroid dexamethasone directly into his middle ear, through his eardrum. —David Owen, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025

Conductive Hearing Loss This type of hearing loss is caused by a problem with sound waves traveling through your outer or middle ear. —Heidi Cope, Health, 20 Apr. 2025

This infection occurs when fluid is trapped behind the eardrum, and parts of the middle ear become infected. —Sherri Gordon, Health, 30 Dec. 2024

While there are six different types of ear infections, the most common is otitis media, a middle ear infection. —Sherri Gordon, Health, 30 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1808, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for middle ear

• auctioneer
• bandelier
• belvedere
• bombardier
• brigadier
• buccaneer
• cavalier
• chandelier
• chanticleer
• chevalier
• commandeer
• disappear

Kids Definition

middle ear

noun

: a small cavity that is lined with membrane and separated from the outer ear by the eardrum and that carries sound waves from the eardrum to the inner ear through a chain of tiny bones

Medical Definition

middle ear

noun

: the intermediate portion of the ear of higher vertebrates consisting typically of a small air-filled membrane-lined chamber in the temporal bone continuous with the nasopharynx through the eustachian tube, separated from the external ear by the tympanic membrane and from the inner ear by fenestrae, and containing a chain of three ossicles that extends from the tympanic membrane to the oval window and transmits vibrations to the inner ear

called also tympanic cavity

see incus, malleus, stapes