Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

prick up one's ears

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.47 in modern English

Syllables
prick- up one's ears
IPA
25
Scrabble Score
15
Letters
2
Syllables
11
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To listen attentively.

Example Sentences

Inflected Forms

pricks up one's ears (present, singular) pricking up one's ears (participle, present) pricked up one's ears (participle, past) pricked up one's ears (past) prick one's ears (alternative)

Synonyms

perk up one's ears pin one's ears back

Questions

What does prick up one's ears mean?
To listen attentively.

How to pronounce prick up one's ears

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “prick up one's ears”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “prick up one's ears”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “prick up one's ears” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.