rings

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of ring.

   The carpenter counted the rings to estimate how old the oak was.

   The five interlocking rings of the Olympic emblem are recognized worldwide.

   Note

   A regular plural, formed with a plain -s, that covers every kind of ring at once: finger rings and earrings, rings of food, the connector in a jack plug, and, in British use, the bands on birds' legs and the burners on a stove. The same spelling is also the present-tense verb, so agreement tells them apart: the rings shine, but the bell rings.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of ring.

   The church bell rings across the valley at noon.

   His voice rings with confidence whenever he addresses the crowd.

   Note

   Two verbs stand behind this form. One belongs to bells and voices. The other means to surround, to fit with a ring, to band a bird, to girdle a tree, or even to disguise stolen cars for resale. Police ring a building at night, and the bell rings at noon. Only the sound verb has the irregular past forms rang and rung.

3. 3
   nounplural

   A gymnastics apparatus and discipline using two rings suspended by straps from an overhead bar, on which an athlete performs strength and hold elements.

   The Olympic champion scored highest on the rings with a flawless iron cross.

   Competitors on the rings must keep the apparatus from swinging during each hold.

   Note

   A plural-only name that does double duty. The rings are the pair of handles an athlete grips, and the rings is also the event contested on them. It usually comes with the article and the preposition on: a gymnast competes, trains or scores on the rings. There is no singular for the apparatus, because one ring is only half of it.

4. 4
   noununcountableplural

   A traditional Irish game in which players throw rings at a board, aiming to land them on hooks.

   Most evenings the regulars at the pub challenge each other to a game of rings.

   Rings is harder than it looks, since the hooks reward a careful underarm throw.

   Note

   A game named in the plural but treated as a singular, much like darts. Rings is played in the pub, and rings is won or lost on the throw. The phrase a game of rings is the safest way to use it, because it keeps the pastime apart from jewelry when the context is thin.

5. 5
   nounpluralabbreviationellipsis

   Short form of still rings.

   He chalked his hands before mounting the rings for his final routine.

   The gymnast dismounted from the rings with a clean double backflip.

   Note

   The everyday shortening of still rings. In a gym, the qualifier drops away and the bare plural does the work. Still describes the apparatus, not the gymnast: the rings are meant to hang steady while the body moves. That steadiness is the point of the gymnastics event, where letting the apparatus swing counts against the athlete.

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