Standard Lemma guide

eardrum

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈɪəˌdɹʌm/
  • UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: /ˈiɚˌdɹʌm/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪədɹʌm

1

noun

Meaning 1

A thin membrane that separates the outer ear from the middle ear and transmits sound from the air to the malleus.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: anatomy, medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the membrane in the ear that vibrates to sound

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: tympanum, tympanic membrane, myringa

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: membrane, tissue layer

Narrower terms: perforated eardrum

History

Etymology

From ear + drum.

Across languages

Translations

71 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: طَبْلَة اَلْأُذْن — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Armenian: թմբկաթաղանթ (tʻmbkatʻaġantʻ) — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Asturian: tímpanu — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Basque: tinpano — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Belarusian: бараба́нная парапо́нка (barabánnaja parapónka) — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Bulgarian: тъпанче (tǎpanče) — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Catalan: timpà — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Chinese Mandarin: 鼓膜 (gǔmó) — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Chinese Mandarin: 耳鼓 (ěrgǔ) — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Chinese Mandarin: 耳膜 (ěrmó) — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Czech: bubínek — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Danish: trommehinde — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Dutch: trommelvlies — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Esperanto: timpano — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Finnish: tärykalvo — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • French: tympan — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Galician: tímpano — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • German: Trommelfell — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Greek: ακουστικό τύμπανο (akoustikó týmpano) — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Gujarati: કાનનો પડદો (kānno paḍdo) — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Hebrew: עור התוף — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Hindi: ढोल (ḍhol) — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Hungarian: dobhártya — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Icelandic: hljóðhimna — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Ido: timpano — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Indonesian: gendang telinga — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Irish: tiompán na cluaise — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Italian: timpano — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Japanese: 鼓膜 (komaku) — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Kabuverdianu: alupec — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Kabuverdianu: alupek — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Kabuverdianu: tinpanu — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Kabuverdianu: timpan' — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Korean: 귀청 (gwicheong) — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Korean: 고막 (gomak) — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Northern Kurdish: perdeya guhê — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Latin: tympanum — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Latin: membrāna tympanica — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Latin: myrinx — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Lithuanian: būgnelis — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Luxembourgish: Trommelfell — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Macedonian: ушно тапанче (ušno tapanče) — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Malay: gegendang telinga — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Māori: tōrino — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Norwegian Bokmål: trommehinne — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Occitan: ausidor — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Persian: پرده گوش (parde-ye guš) — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Persian: پرده صماخ — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Polish: błona bębenkowa — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Polish: bębenek — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Portuguese: tímpano — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Russian: бараба́нная перепо́нка (barabánnaja perepónka) — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Scottish Gaelic: faillean — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Serbo-Croatian: бубница — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Serbo-Croatian: бубна опна — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Serbo-Croatian: бубњић — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Serbo-Croatian: bubnica — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Serbo-Croatian: bubna opna — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Serbo-Croatian: bubnjić — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Slovak: bubienok — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Spanish: tímpano — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Sranan Tongo: yesimama — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Swedish: trumhinna — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Tagalog: salamin ng tainga — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Telugu: గూబ (gūba) — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Telugu: కర్ణభేరి (karṇabhēri) — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Thai: แก้วหู (gɛ̂ɛo-hǔu) — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Turkish: kulak zarı — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Ukrainian: бараба́нна перети́нка (barabánna peretýnka) — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Vietnamese: màng nhĩ — membrane separating outer and middle ears
  • Welsh: pilen clust — membrane separating outer and middle ears
Real reading context

eardrum in complete knowledge articles