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Glite Dictionary
😠 An unpleasant man 🍆 A vulgar penis 🪡 To pierce 🤏 To sting 🩹 A small puncture 🔘 A small dent 🦊 To raise ears
to prick

to prick

6 6.3
To make an animal's ears stand up when it hears a sound
  • verb
  • /prɪk/
translation icon : alzar las orejas
  • Commuters coming out of Faraday Station stopped in mid-stride, pricked up their ears, and rushed to the source of the scream.
  • ears pricked
  • pricked forward
  • dog pricked its ears

And then Sting says, I got a song and we all our ears prick up and he pulls out fucking, you know, message in a bottle.

Examples

  • Suddenly, Rhonwyn's ears pricked up at the sound of dogs baying in the distance.

  • Both horses were facing the direction of the floating island, their ears pricked forward, tension communicated in their stance.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • If I do it a fourth time, he stop and pricks up his ears.

  • Home Run stood still for several seconds and pricked up his ears as if he, too, heard the music.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • As they were talking, a dog that had been lying asleep raised his head and pricked up his ears.

    Academic text (2010)

  • "The dog pricked up its ears and slunk over to him."

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Suddenly, Rhonwyn's ears pricked up at the sound of dogs baying in the distance.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • You could actually see Joe's ears prick up, and now look at him.

  • The little dog pricked her ears at the question and gave a yip of sympathetic agreement.

Synonyms

to prick up
vsto prick
3 4.9

Ears suddenly point up when an animal hears something and becomes alert

applies more broadly to other body parts not only ears

Antonyms

to droop
22 3.9

To bend down and hang limply because of being tired or without water

Idioms

to acting like a prick
  • Offensive
9.9

To behave in a rude and hurtful way to other people

Phrasal Verbs

to prick up
3 4.9

Ears suddenly point up when an animal hears something and becomes alert

Surface Forms

prick infinitive
pricked past
pricked past participle
pricking present participle
pricks third person singular

Etymology

Prick in the phrase 'prick up' comes from an old sense meaning 'to make a point' or 'to stand up', like a sharp part pointing upwards. That's why an animal 'pricks' its ears when it makes them point up to listen carefully.