bell ringing
1
3.3
- noun
- /bɛl ˈrɪŋɪŋ/
- The school bell rings and Deacon clicks off the TV.
- the church bell ringing
Examples
-
Why are the bells ringing at this hour?
-
The bells ring, and within moments the corridor is empty.
Fiction book (2002) -
A bell rings to announce the liturgical hours that divide their day into these types of prayer.
Fiction book (2002) -
A church bell ringing causes Trevor to wake up again, wincing at the sound.
Fiction book (2002) -
When the bell rang, Evan jerked his head toward the door.
Fiction book (2002) -
The church bells rang.
Fiction book (2002) -
During the ceremony, the bell ringing filled the air with a beautiful melody.
-
The soft bell ringing signaled the start of the evening service at the chapel.
-
We gathered outside, listening to the joyful bell ringing announcing the new year.
Synonyms
85
1.0
The sound a bell or phone makes when struck
35
5.8
A deep sound a large bell or clock makes when it rings
33
4.2
Clear ringing sounds that bells make
31
1.0
A clear loud sound a bell or similar thing makes when hit
29
1.7
A clear musical ringing sound made by a bell or a set of bells
4
1.0
A clear ringing sound made by a struck metal object
1
3.6
A repeated ringing sound a bell makes
1
3.7
A deep continuous sound like thunder or large bells
1
6.3
The slow deep sound a bell makes when hit
1
7.7
A deep long sound like thunder or large bells
1
9.9
A light ringing sound made by bells or wind chimes
How Loud
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the activity or art of playing bells' is directly and transparently composed from 'bell' (a hollow object that rings when struck) + 'ringing' (the act/sound of ringing). This is a straightforward noun + gerund construction following normal English composition patterns and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand it.
Etymology
Bell ringing comes from the image of large bells in a tower being pulled so they make loud ringing that people can hear across a village or town. So it means 'the sound produced by the playing of a set of bells'.