Meaning & Origin

“All ears” means fully attentive — ready to listen closely. The image is playful: as if the listener is made entirely of ears, focused only on hearing. It has been common in conversational English for centuries.

Pronunciation Guide

• all — vowel like “awl.”
• ears — sounds like “eerz.”
• Natural rhythm: ALL EARS.

Usage & Sentence Examples

Use it to invite someone to speak or to show you’re listening with full attention.

• We’re all ears — walk us through the plan.
• If you have feedback, I’m all ears.
• The board is all ears for concrete milestones.
• Tell me what happened — I’m all ears.
• When users talk, product should be all ears.
• The team was all ears during the post‑mortem.

Synonyms

listening closely · paying full attention · tuned in · attentive · dialed in