Bell

/bɛl/ · noun

Meaning

(music) A percussive instrument made of metal or other hard material, typically but not always in the shape of an inverted cup with a flared rim, which resonates when struck..

Definitions by Sense

1. (music) A percussive instrument made of metal or other hard material, typically but not always in the shape of an inverted cup with a flared rim, which resonates when struck.
2. An instrument that emits a ringing sound, situated on a bicycle's handlebar and used by the cyclist to warn of their presence.
3. The sounding of a bell as a signal.
4. (chiefly British, informal) A telephone call.
5. A signal at a school that tells the students when a class is starting or ending.
6. (music) The flared end of a brass or woodwind instrument.
7. (nautical) Any of a series of strokes on a bell (or similar), struck every half hour to indicate the time (within a four hour watch)
8. The flared end of a pipe, designed to mate with a narrow spigot.

Example Sentences

HEAR the sledges with the bells — Silver bells! What a world of merriment their melody foretells!

The bell which called the pupils to their lessons can still be seen on the roof.

Referee Steve Smoger was an almost invisible presence in the ring as both men went at it, although he did have a word with Froch when he landed with a shot after the bell at the end of the eighth.

I’ll give you a bell later.

In a cowslip's bell I lie.

He swam to the place where Mary disappeared but there was neither boil nor gurgle on the water, nor even a bell of departing breath, to mark the place where his beloved had sunk.

Who will bell the cat?

to bell a tube

Synonyms for bell

Antonyms for bell

Related Words

Word Forms

• bells
• belling
• belled

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

Practice and Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions