A small speaker or receiver that fits inside or against your ear, allowing you to hear sounds from a telephone, radio, or headphone device.
Compound of 'ear' (from Old English) and 'piece' (from Old French 'pece'). The word was created in the early 20th century as telephone and radio technology developed.
Early telephone earpieces were loose and had to be held to your ear, which is why Alexander Graham Bell's original invention required people to keep one hand constantly on their head—the handset solved this problem by combining the microphone and earpiece.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.