ring

Pluralrings

Formsrings, ringing, rang, rung

1. 1
   jewelrynouncountable

   A round band of metal, often precious, worn on a finger or through the ear, nose, or another body part.

   The jeweler resized the ring so it fit her finger snugly.

   He slipped a diamond ring onto her finger during the proposal.

   UsageOften named by occasion or material: an engagement ring, a wedding ring, a diamond ring; earring is one word.

   Similarband

   Note

   Its value as a token is old. Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice already speaks of "the dearest ring in Venice". Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Rings have long served as tokens of commitment. gutenberg.org
   • William Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice. gutenberg.org
   • The quoted phrase occurs in The Merchant of Venice, spoken by Bassanio in Act IV, scene I. gutenberg.org
2. 2
   circle (object)nouncountable

   A roughly circular, hollow object that encircles or fastens something, such as a hoop, loop, or band.

   The curtain hung from a row of plastic rings.

   A heavy iron ring was set into the stone wall.

   Similarhoop, annulus, torus

   Note

   One of the oldest circle meanings, going back to Old English hring, from a root meaning "to turn, bend". Rank and rink descend from the same source. The ring a bell makes is a separate word that only shares the spelling (see the sound of a bell). Among the near synonyms, hoop suggests something large and open, while annulus and torus belong to geometry. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • Ring in its circular senses descends from Old English hring and ultimately from a root meaning 'to turn, bend'. en.wiktionary.org
   • Rank and rink share the etymological source of circular ring. en.wiktionary.org
   • Ring meaning a bell's sound is etymologically distinct from circular ring. en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   phone soundingverbfigurativelyintransitive

   Of a bell, telephone or alarm, to make a clear resonant sound; also to make a bell sound by striking or pulling it.

   Phones ring nonstop in the newsroom on election night.

   The kitchen timer rang, and he hurried to pull the bread from the oven.

   UsageThe past forms are rang and rung: the phone rang, it has rung (not incorrect: ringed).

   Similarsound, chime, peal

4. 4
   arenanouncountable

   An arena, often circular, where sports or exhibitions take place, as in boxing or the circus; also, by extension, the arena of a political contest.

   The fighter danced around the ring, looking for an opening.

   Three candidates have already entered the ring for the mayoral race.

   UsageA newcomer to a contest enters the ring or throws their hat into the ring.

   Similararena, fray

   Note

   The name outlives the shape. A boxing ring is roped square, yet it is still a ring, because the word came to mean the space of contest rather than its outline. Edmund Smith's Phaedra and Hippolitus (1707) uses it for a chariot course, "the dusty ring". From the arena it passes into politics, where a candidate enters the ring the way a fighter does. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

   • The boxing term preserves an earlier circular-arena sense after the arena became square. en.wikipedia.org
   • Edmund Smith wrote Phaedra and Hippolitus, first published in 1707. lib.uchicago.edu
   • The play uses the exact phrase “the dusty ring” for a place where charioteers compete. en.wiktionary.org
   • The arena sense extends figuratively to political contests. en.wiktionary.org
5. 5
   nouncountable

   A clear, resonant sound like that of a bell, or a loud sound that carries or echoes.

   The deep ring of the cathedral bell carried across the valley.

   From across the valley came the clear ring of the church bells, echoing off the hills.

   Similarpeal, chime, toll

   Note

   A second word begins here: Old English hrinġan, imitative in origin, so the sound supplies the name. Dutch ringen and Swedish ringa are its relatives. As a noun it suits hard, bright sounds such as bell metal, hammer on anvil, or crystal. A dull thud has no ring. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • The sound word descends from Old English hrinġan, meaning to ring. en.wiktionary.org
   • The sound word has an imitative origin. en.wiktionary.org
   • Dutch ringen and Swedish ringa are cognates of English ring in its sound sense. en.wiktionary.org
6. 6
   nouncountable

   A set of people or objects arranged in the shape of a circle.

   Dancers moved in a ring around the maypole.

   A ring of tall trees surrounded the clearing.

   UsagePeople stand or dance in a ring, or it takes of: a ring of trees, a ring of mushrooms.

   Similarcircle

   Note

   Here the circle is made by its members rather than cut from one piece, unlike a solid ring. Things stand, dance or sing in a ring, as Milton's Muses sing round Jove's altar in Il Penseroso. The circle can be loose, too: Miles Burton's ring of gorse and brambles (1944) is "irregular". Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • John Milton's Il Penseroso depicts the Muses singing in a ring around Jove's altar. en.wikisource.org
   • Miles Burton describes an irregular ring of gorse and brambles in The Three Corpse Trick. en.wiktionary.org
   • The Three Corpse Trick was published in 1944. en.wikipedia.org
7. 7
   gangnouncountable

   An exclusive group of people working together, usually in some unethical or illegal activity.

   Investigators exposed a ring of corrupt officials taking bribes.

   The drug ring operated across three states before its leaders were arrested.

   UsageUsually after what the group does: a drug ring, a crime ring, a blackmail ring.

   Similargang, syndicate, network, cartel, cabal

   Note

   A word for a closed circle of insiders, and usually one that is up to no good. The historian E. A. Freeman, writing on Ottoman rule, speaks of "the ruling ring at Constantinople", meaning a political clique. Upton Sinclair's blackmail ring of 1928 shows where the word settled. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Freeman uses "Ring" to mean a political clique governing at Constantinople. cristoraul.org
   • Upton Sinclair's Boston contains the expression "blackmail ring". gutenberg.org
   • Boston was first published in 1928. gutenberg.org
8. 8
   seemverbfigurativelyintransitive

   Of something spoken or written, to seem, sound, or come across in a particular way.

   The promise rang hollow after so many broken ones.

   Those claims ring true only when backed by evidence.

   UsageTakes an adjective, not an object: ring true, ring hollow; that doesn't ring true is the classic frame.

   Similarsound, seem

9. 9
   echo throughverbintransitive

   To resound or echo, with sound spreading and reverberating through a space.

   The small theater rang with applause long after the curtain fell.

   Shouts of victory ring from every corner of the arena.

   UsageOften with the place as subject followed by with: the hall rang with applause.

   Similarresound, echo, reverberate

   Note

   Tennyson has the thicket ringing "to many a flute of Arcady" in 1850, and a passage Boris Sidis quotes in 1919 describes crowds who "made the theatre ring with applause." The theater is not struck the way a bell is in the bell-sounding use. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Tennyson describes a thicket ringing “to many a flute of Arcady.” en.wikisource.org
   • The Tennyson passage was first published in 1850. en.wikisource.org
   • Boris Sidis's book containing the quoted passage was published in 1919. en.wikisource.org
10. 10
    phone someoneverbAustraliaBritishNew Zealandtransitive

    To telephone someone, that is, to call them by phone.

    She rang her solicitor to ask about the contract.

    Ring the office and ask for an appointment.

    UsageTakes the person or place as direct object (ring you later, ring the office); also ring someone up.

    Similarcall, phone, telephone

    Note

    The British, Australian and New Zealand way of saying phone, where American English says call.

11. 11
    round foodnouncountable

    A piece of food formed in the shape of a circle or hoop, such as an onion ring or a doughnut.

    The chef served calamari as golden rings on a white plate.

    Each pineapple ring was grilled until caramelized.

12. 12
    planet bandnouncountable

    A band of dust, ice, and rocky material orbiting a planet or young star.

    Saturn's most visible ring spans thousands of kilometers.

    Astronomers detected a faint ring of debris circling the young star.

    UsageOften in the form rings for the whole system: Saturn's rings.

    Similarband

    Note

    Astronomy's ring is made of separate pieces of material, each in orbit, that read as one band from a distance. The word is not reserved for planets. A disk of debris circling a young star is a ring as well. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Astronomical rings consist of separate particles, each following its own orbit. science.nasa.gov
    • The separate particles can appear to form a continuous band from a distance. jpl.nasa.gov
    • Rings of debris also occur around young stars. science.nasa.gov
13. 13
    nouncountable

    A round mark or stain that something leaves on a surface, as a wet glass does, or a dark circle around the eyes.

    The coffee pot left a brown ring on the white tablecloth.

    Three nights without sleep had left heavy rings around his eyes.

    UsageOften rings around or under the eyes.

    Similarstain, mark, circle

14. 14
    nouncountable

    A long stripe of contrasting color or material that encircles something.

    The snake's body was marked with bright rings of red and black.

    Each pole along the old road was painted with a broad red ring so drivers could see it at night.

    Similarband, stripe

15. 15
    atom loopnouncountable

    A group of atoms bonded together to form a closed chain within a molecule.

    The molecule contains two fused rings sharing a common edge.

    Each ring in the structure consists of five carbon atoms.

    Note

    Chemists usually name a ring by its parent compound or its size: a benzene ring, a ring of five carbon atoms. Rings can share atoms, and two fused rings have an edge in common. A molecule built on one is called cyclic, the chemist's adjective for a chain that closes on itself. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • Rings can share atoms; two fused rings share an edge, corresponding to a bond between two shared atoms. iupac.qmul.ac.uk
    • A molecule containing a ring is cyclic, with atoms connected into a closed chain. ebi.ac.uk

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