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Glite Dictionary
🐦 A bird sound 📱 A notification sound
bell-like call

bell-like call

6.3
A clear, musical bird sound like a small bell
  • noun
translation icon : canto de campana
  • Her favorite memory was waking up to the bell-like call of robins outside her window.

Examples

  • We listened for the bell-like call of the distant songbird at dawn.

  • The thrush's bell-like call enchanted everyone in the quiet forest.

  • The bird made a beautiful bell-like call at dawn.

  • Have you ever heard a bell-like call in the forest?

  • Her favorite memory was waking up to the bell-like call of robins outside her window.

  • The thrush's bell-like call enchanted everyone in the quiet forest.

  • We listened for the bell-like call of the distant songbird at dawn.

Synonyms

call
vsbell-like call
301 1.0

A sound an animal makes to get attention

is a bird sound that specifically resembles a clear bell tone
birdsong
vsbell-like call
6 2.6

Pleasant musical sounds that birds make, often in the morning

is a specific bird sound that resembles a clear bell tone
ding-dong
vsbell-like call
1 3.6

A repeated ringing sound a bell makes

is a bird sound that resembles that ringing sound rather than a bell source
bell ringing
vsbell-like call
1 3.3

A sound made by bells during a ceremony or musical performance

is a single bird sound resembling a bell tone, not a human musical performance
Ding Dongs
vsbell-like call
4.2

Clear ringing sounds that bells make

is the same clear resonant tone produced by a bird rather than a real bell

How Bell-Like

bell-like call
6.3
to trill
  • Specialized
2 7.2
tweet
16 2.5
peep
14 1.0

Surface Forms

bell-like call singular
bell-like calls plural

Morphology

bell-like + call

The phrase is transparently compositional: 'bell-like' (formed with the productive suffix -like) means 'resembling a bell' and 'call' means 'a sound produced to signal or attract attention', so together they describe a signal sound that resembles a bell. This morphological pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Bell-like call comes from the image of a small bird making a clear, ringing sound like a tiny bell, so you can imagine a bright, musical note in the air. That's why the phrase describes a bird's song that sounds bell-like and easy to hear.