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bell

bell

1 9.9
One of the rings struck on a ship to show time during a watch
  • noun
  • /bɛl/
  • Specialized
: campanada

Examples

  • If you hear a bell, it's a division bell.

  • We eat at six bells... no sooner, no later.

  • No one left on the third bell, so everyone then knew there weren't any groups of four.

  • You have noticed a ship's bell hanging at the west side of this courtyard.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • At 8:00 A.M., he rang all three bells in unison to start Mass.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • The sailors counted the time by the ship's bell, knowing that eight bells signified the end of their watch.

  • At midnight, the ship's bell rang eight times, indicating the shift change for the crew.

  • During the four-hour watch, the crew listened for the bell to mark each passing half hour.

Synonyms

ship's bell
vsbell
  • Specialized
8.8

A sound a ship makes every half hour to show the time

is the same nautical time signal named more generally

Idioms

to ring a bell
  • Informal
63 3.5

To seem familiar and make you remember something

2 5.6

To avoid trouble at the last moment because something interrupts

1 9.9

To try to undo something after it has happened and cannot be changed

In very good working condition and reliable

to bell the cat
  • Informal
1 9.9

To take on a difficult or risky task that others refuse to do

To warn people about a possible danger or serious problem

1 5.4

Make someone think there may be a problem

9.9

Win first place in a competition

Compounds

20 1.6

A large sweet vegetable shaped like a bell and eaten raw or cooked

18 2.2

A bell that rings to warn people of danger or an emergency

16 1.1

A bell in a church tower that rings to call people to services or mark the time

12 3.3

A tall structure, often part of a church or public building, that holds bells

10 2.7

A small metal object that jingles when moved, often on a horse harness or sleigh

bell curve
  • Specialized
9 4.6

A curved line on a graph showing most results near the average and fewer at the ends

7 3.4

A large old bell in Philadelphia that stands for freedom in the United States

bell-bottoms
  • Archaic
6 5.5

Trousers with legs that get wider from the knee down, often worn in the 1960s and 1970s

dinner bell
  • Archaic
5 1.1

A bell that rings to tell people that dinner is ready

bell-bottom
  • Archaic
5 3.9

Trousers with legs that become wider below the knee

4 4.3

A person who rings bells in a church or musical group

4 1.0

A bell in a school that tells students the start or end of class

3 3.5

A sign that tells people about a possible problem

bell jar
  • Specialized
3 6.9

A glass cover shaped like a bell used to protect fragile things like clocks or small objects

3 2.0

A bell that rings to warn people about a fire

2 3.2

A rounded form that is wider at the bottom and narrower at the top like a bell

2 2.7

A bell that rings to warn people of danger

diving bell
  • Specialized
1 6.3

A strong chamber with an open bottom filled with air that carries people or equipment underwater for work

1 3.3

A sound made by bells during a ceremony or musical performance

1 4.1

Playing a set of bells usually hung in a tower

1 6.2

Hotel employee who supervises bellboys and helps guests with their luggage

bell-shaped curve
  • Specialized
1 4.2

A curve shaped like a bell that shows most values near the average

bell ringer
  • Informal
1 7.0

A very successful result that does exactly what it should

A bell that rings when electricity makes a magnet move

1 8.0

A bell that a church or community rings to tell people someone has died

1 4.4

A small bell that hangs on a sheep's neck to help find it by sound

bell buoy
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A floating marker with a bell that rings when it moves to warn boats

telephone bell
  • Archaic
1 2.1

A small electric bell that rings to tell someone about an incoming phone call

bell cow
  • Jargon
1 9.9

A person or thing that leads a group and shows the best example

1 4.6

A button on a door or wall you press to ring a bell at an entrance

1 9.9

A bell sound in Catholic churches that calls people to say the Angelus prayer

1 4.3

A button by a door used at night to call someone

A garden plant with pretty bell-shaped flowers grown for decoration

1 4.7

A tent with a round floor and a tall pole in the middle

1 7.7

A bell-shaped glass cover used to protect or display objects and to hold gases

1 3.4

A decorative thing of metal, glass or clay that hangs and makes a soft tinkling sound in wind

1 9.9

A tall plant with clusters of large pink-purple tube-like flowers and leaves poisonous to farm animals

1 8.3

A North American tree with white bell-shaped flowers

bell foundry
  • Specialized
1 8.1

A workshop where people make bells by pouring hot metal into molds

A clear, musical bird sound like a small bell

bell arch
  • Specialized
1 9.1

An arch with a rounded top that rests on stones sticking out from a wall like a bell

1 8.4

A small European shrub with thin needle-like leaves and bell-shaped purple or pink flowers

honey bell
  • South African
1 9.9

A small African shrub with long hanging stems and yellow flowers that smell sweet

1 2.0

A small bell on a shop door that rings when a customer enters or leaves

bell founder
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A person who makes bells by pouring hot liquid metal into a mold

bell metal
  • Specialized
1 8.5

A hard metal made from copper and tin that is used to make bells

bell-like call
  • Texting
3.7

A short bell sound on a phone or app that signals a message

8.2

A large bell-shaped oven that heats steel strips to remove hardening and make them softer

bell-type furnace
  • Specialized
9.8

A furnace that covers steel strips with a bell-shaped hood to make them softer

9.9

A yellow tropical fruit with sweet juicy flesh and a strong smell

bell book
  • Specialized
9.9

A ship record for main engine orders written by the engineer

9.9

A small structure on a roof that holds one or more bells

9.9

A small shelter that holds a bell on the roof or wall of a church

bell deck
  • Specialized
9.6

A floor under the bells in a tower that supports them

bell gable
  • Specialized
9.9

A small wall at the end of a roof with openings that hold bells

bell magpie
  • Australian
9.9

A blue-black bird that eats fruit and makes a bell-like call

A mushroom with a bell-shaped cap attached only at the top

bell seat
  • Archaic
9.9

A seat shaped like a bell on some chairs from the 1700s

bell toad
  • Specialized
9.7

A frog in western North America that uses a tail-like organ to mate

A low shrub with purple bell-shaped flowers that grows on open wild land

A garden plant with white or blue bell-shaped flowers that appears in early summer

ship's bell
  • Specialized
8.8

A sound a ship makes every half hour to show the time

A medium-sized tree that loses its leaves and has white bell-shaped flowers

9.9

A smelly weed with bell-shaped flowers that grows in fields of grain

9.9

A plant with small blue or white bell-shaped flowers that lives for many years

Surface Forms

bell singular
bells plural

Etymology

Bell was used on ships to mark time, so each set of hits became known as a 'bell' and tells part of the watch.