to strain one's ears to hear sth
1strain — strain1 [streın] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(worry)¦ 2¦(difficulty)¦ 3¦(force)¦ 4¦(injury)¦ 5¦(plant/animal)¦ 6¦(quality)¦ 7¦(way of saying something)¦ 8 strains of something ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ [Sense: 1 4; Date: 1500 1600; Origin …
2strain — 1 noun 1 WORRY (C, U) worry caused by having to deal with a problem or work too hard over a long period of time: The trial has been a terrible strain for both of us. | put a strain on sb/sth: Nick s frequent trips were putting a strain on their… …
3ear — noun 1 part of the body ADJECTIVE ▪ left, right ▪ inner, middle ▪ external, outer ▪ big …