# bell

Pronunciation: say "BEL" /bɛl/

## Noun

1. A device that makes a ringing sound when struck or set off, typically a hollow metal cup with a flared rim, often used to give a signal.
   - Simple: A metal object, often shaped like an upside-down cup, that rings when hit or pressed, often to give a signal.
   - _The bronze bell in the cathedral tower weighs over two tons._
   - _Each bell in the carillon is tuned to a different pitch._
2. The sound of a bell used as a signal to mark a time or event, such as the start or end of a school class.
   - Simple: The ringing of a bell to tell people it is time for something, like the start of a class.
   - _A single bell from the chapel called the villagers to evening service._
   - _The boxer dropped his guard at the bell that ended the round._
3. Anything shaped like a hollow cup with a flared rim, such as the corolla of a flower.
   - Simple: Anything with a rounded, open shape like a hollow cup, such as the wide top of some flowers.
   - _Each foxglove flower forms a speckled bell that droops along the stem._
   - _The jellyfish pulsed its translucent bell to push through the water._
4. The flared opening at the end of a brass or woodwind instrument.
   - Simple: The wide, open end of a horn or other wind instrument, where the sound comes out.
   - _The trombonist aimed the bell of his instrument at the back row._
   - _A mute fits snugly into the bell to soften the trumpet's sound._
5. A telephone call placed to someone. *(colloquial, British)*
   - Simple: A phone call to someone.
   - _Give us a bell when you're free and we'll sort out the details._
   - _He gave his mum a bell to let her know the train was delayed._
8. Short for bell-end: a stupid, annoying, or contemptible person. *(slang, British)* — Clipping of bell-end (“stupid or contemptible person”).
   - Simple: Short for bell-end: a rude word for a stupid or annoying person.
   - _Don't be such a bell and just give him his phone back._
   - _Don't be a bell about it. She was only trying to help._
9. One of the strokes sounded on a ship's bell every half hour to mark the time during a four-hour watch.
   - Simple: On a ship, one of the rings of a bell used to mark each half hour of a work shift.
   - _The lookout heard six bells and knew the watch was nearly done._
   - _Each bell marked another half hour of the cold night watch._
10. The widened, flared opening at one end of a pipe, shaped to receive the narrow spigot end of the next length of pipe.
   - Simple: The wide, flared end of a pipe, made to fit over the narrow end of another pipe.
   - _The plumber sealed the joint where the spigot slid into the bell._
   - _Each cast-iron section has a bell at one end and a plain spigot at the other._
12. A control character that signals a device to produce an audible alert, historically a beep or ring, rather than printing a visible symbol.
   - Simple: A computer character that makes the device beep or sound an alert.
   - _The script sends a bell to alert the user when the long job completes._
   - _Older teletypes would physically ring on receiving a bell._
13. The deep bay or bellow made by certain animals, such as a hound following a scent or a stag during the rutting season.
   - Simple: The loud, deep cry of an animal such as a hunting hound or a male deer in mating season.
   - _The bell of the hounds carried across the frozen valley._
   - _From the ridge we heard the deep bell of a rutting stag._
15. The part of a column's capital between the abacus and the neck molding, or the plain, nearly cylindrical core imagined inside a capital's carved foliage.
   - Simple: The part at the top of a column just under its flat top piece, or the round center inside its carved leaves.
   - _Sculptors carved acanthus leaves around the bell of the Corinthian capital._
   - _Centuries of rain had worn the bell of the column smooth._

## Verb

6. To attach a bell to a person, animal, or object.
   - Simple: To put a bell on something, such as an animal.
   - _Shepherds bell the lead ewe so the flock can be tracked by ear._
   - _The monks belled each cow before sending it up to the high pasture._
7. To call someone on the telephone. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To phone someone.
   - _Bell your sister and ask if she's coming to dinner._
   - _He said he'd bell the landlord about the broken heater._
11. To shape something so that it flares outward at one end, like a bell.
   - Simple: To shape something so that it widens out at one end like a bell.
   - _Workers bell the end of each copper tube so another tube can slide inside._
   - _The smith belled the open end of the pipe to fit the joint._
14. To cry out with a deep, loud bellow, as a stag or hound does; to utter something loudly.
   - Simple: To make a deep, loud cry like a deer or dog, or to shout something loudly.
   - _Red deer stags bell through the long nights of the rut._
   - _The hound belled the moment it struck the trail._

## Noun

16. A bubble of air or gas, such as one rising through a liquid. *(archaic, Scotland)*
   - Simple: A small ball of air in water or another liquid.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To ring or sound a bell, especially in order to give a signal.
- (verb) Of a plant, to develop bell-shaped flowers or corollas; to open out into a bell form; to blossom.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–12, 15–16** — Proto-Germanic *bellǭ became Old English belle ("bell"), which kept the same spelling in Middle English. Dutch bel, Danish bjælde, and Swedish bjällra are related words.
**Meanings 13–14** — From Middle English "bellen," from Old English "bellan" (to bellow, roar, bark), from Proto-Germanic *bellaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (to sound, roar, bark). It is related to Dutch "bellen" (to ring) and German "bellen" (to bark).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/bell (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).