rabbit ears
2
5.6
- noun
- /ˈræbɪt ɪrz/
- Archaic
- If the reception is poor, you can adjust the rabbit ears for a better picture.
- TV with rabbit ears
- rabbit-ear antenna
- adjusted the rabbit ears
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Watch on YouTubeAnd one bits of evidence of that is those who remember televisions that had rabbit ears, they are detecting radio waves as television signals.
- And one bits of evidence of that is those who remember televisions that had rabbit ears, they are detecting radio waves as television signals.
Examples
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Does your TV have "rabbit ears?"
Blog text (18) -
If you had a TV, you had to use the rabbit ears and hope for the best.
Blog text (18) -
We still use rabbit ears on our TV.
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Go back to your rabbit ears antenna.
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We got bottle caps, a bike tire, and rabbit ears for the TV.
Fiction book (1997) -
You might as well have watched it on a black-and-white TV with some rabbit ears.
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She adjusted the rabbit ears on top of the set.
Fiction book (1994) -
They still sell televisions with rabbit ears.
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If you didn't have a TV with rabbit ears, what would a flat-screen equivalent represent?
Blog text (18) -
No disrespect to Jack Brickhouse, but Harry Caray and Jimmy Piersall made the games much more entertaining, although we were never able to get a decent picture on Channel 44 no matter how we twisted the rabbit ears on top of the TV.
Blog text (27)
Synonyms
96
3.7
A metal device on a roof or car that sends and receives radio and TV signals
10
5.1
A metal rod or wire that sends and gets radio and TV signals
3
3.2
A device that receives television signals, often placed on a roof
1
3.2
A metal device on a roof or wall that receives TV signals
1
4.1
A curved metal dish that directs radio or satellite signals to a single point
How Effective
Surface Forms
Morphology
rabbit + ears
The name relies on a visual metaphor: the two extendible rods resemble a rabbit's upright ears, so a learner who knows 'rabbit' and 'ears' can infer an ear‑like shape. However, identifying that the object is specifically a TV antenna and used to receive signals depends on cultural/technological knowledge, so the connection is partly but not fully predictable.
Etymology
Rabbit ears got their name because two metal rods on old TVs stood up like a rabbit's ears, and people moved them to find the best picture as if the antenna were 'listening'. That's why the phrase now means the small indoor antenna used 'to get TV signals'.