prick up one's ears

prick up one's ears
prick up its ears† and prick up one's ears
Fig. [for an animal or a person] to become attentive. (The animal will adjust its ears toward the sound.) •

The sound made the dog prick its ears up.

When Fred heard his name, he pricked up his ears.

She pricked her ears up when she heard her name.

* * *
{v. phr.}, {informal} To come to interested attention; begin to listen closely; try to hear. * /The woman pricked up her ears when she heard them talking about her./

Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

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  • prick up one's ears — {v. phr.}, {informal} To come to interested attention; begin to listen closely; try to hear. * /The woman pricked up her ears when she heard them talking about her./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • prick up one's ears — LISTEN CAREFULLY, pay attention, become attentive, begin to take notice, attend; informal be all ears; poetic/literary hark. → prick * * * phrasal : to begin to listen intently or with increased interest * * * prick up one s ears To begin to… …   Useful english dictionary

  • prick up one's ears — idi prick up one s ears, to become very alert; listen attentively …   From formal English to slang

  • prick up one's ears —    If you prick up your ears, you suddenly pay attention to what is being said.     The children pricked up their ears when they heard the word ice cream …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • prick up one's ears — we pricked up our ears when he mentioned the Christmas bonuses Syn: listen carefully, pay attention, become attentive, begin to take notice, attend; informal be all ears …   Thesaurus of popular words

  • prick\ up\ one's\ ears — v. phr. informal To come to interested attention; begin to listen closely; try to hear. The woman pricked up her ears when she heard them talking about her …   Словарь американских идиом

  • prick up one's ears — phrasal to listen intently …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • prick up one's ears — verb To listen attentively …   Wiktionary

  • prick up one's ears — (Roget s IV) v. Syn. pay attention (to), notice, listen to; see listen 1 …   English dictionary for students

  • prick — [prik] n. [ME prike < OE prica, point, dot, akin to Du prik, MHG pfrecken] 1. a very small puncture or, formerly, dot, made by a sharp point 2. Archaic any of various pointed objects, as a thorn, goad, etc. 3. PRICKING 4. a sharp pain caused… …   English World dictionary

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