earpiece

UK/ˈɪəpiːs/US/ˈɪɹpiːs/

nounC1Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speechleans spoken

Other forms: earpieces

An earpiece is the small speaker worn in one ear. Presenters, security staff and interpreters all have one.

The single ear is the point, since it leaves the other free for the room, which is why broadcasters can hear a director and a guest at the same time. Television has made the coiled wire behind an ear a visual shorthand for security. The word also names the part of a telephone handset you listen through, and the arm of a pair of glasses in some usage.

Definitions of earpiece

1nounearpieceA small speaker worn in the ear to receive sound.C1
“The presenter kept touching her earpiece.”

Where it comes from

From ear + piece.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 4 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

earpiece in the wild

The earpiece and microphone are located on the back so one must hold it with the front screen and keypad facing out to make a call.
Nokia 9210 Communicator
Audience members may be given dialogue to read (as written text, or via an earpiece in some cases).
Participatory theatre
A crystal earpiece is a type of piezoelectric earphone, producing sound by using a piezoelectric crystal, a material that changes its shape when electricity is applied to it.
Crystal earpiece
An in-ear monitor (IEMs), in-ear, or colloquially earpiece is a listening device placed into the ear.
In-ear monitor
However, when the earplug connection is in use, the Bluetooth earpiece function is disabled.
Nokia 6275i

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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