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toll

toll

20 6.3
The slow deep sound a bell makes when hit
  • noun
  • /toʊl/
translation icon : campanada
  • The toll of the bell...

In Spain, they try to eat a single grape for each of the toll of the bell at the midnight.

Examples

  • For whom does the bell toll? he asked rhetorically.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Far off, I heard a bell toll, then in the corridor, shuffling.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • "All the birds of the air fell a-sighing and a-sobbing when they heard the bell toll for poor cock Robin!"

  • As the great theologian John Donne wrote: it doesn't matter for whom the bell tolls.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • I could hear the toll of the church bell echoing through the quiet village.

  • As the clock struck midnight, the toll rang out, signaling the end of the old year.

  • During the funeral, the soft toll of the bell marked the somber occasion.

Synonyms

bell
vstoll
221 1.0

A clear ringing sound made by a struck metal object

is specifically slow and repeated rather than general ringing sound
ring
vstoll
203 1.0

The sound a bell or phone makes when struck

is a slow repeated set of strikes not any brief activation sound
ringing
vstoll
133 1.0

A clear loud sound a bell or similar thing makes when hit

is slower and struck repeatedly rather than a single sustained tone
chime
vstoll
23 1.7

A clear musical ringing sound made by a bell or a set of bells

is slower and more solemn, used as repeated measured signals
knell
vstoll
  • Literature
12 9.9

A slow, sad bell sound that announces a death, funeral, or the end of something

is slow and repeated rather than a single mourning signal
dong
vstoll
9 5.8

A deep sound a large bell or clock makes when it rings

is slow and repeated rather than one deep single strike
ding-dong
vstoll
1 3.6

A repeated ringing sound a bell makes

is slower and solemn rather than bright repeated two tone sounds
bell ringing
vstoll
1 3.3

A sound made by bells during a ceremony or musical performance

is slow measured repetition used for signaling not musical performance
pealing
vstoll
1 7.7

A deep long sound like thunder or large bells

is slower and more measured struck slowly and repeatedly
Ding Dongs
vstoll
4.2

Clear ringing sounds that bells make

is slower and more solemn rather than bright repetitive tones
tintinnabulation
vstoll
  • Archaic
9.9

A light ringing sound made by bells or wind chimes

is slow deep and repeated rather than light tinkling

Compounds

death toll
  • Literature
61 3.5

Number of people who have died because of an accident, war, or disaster

7 2.5

A road you must pay to drive on, often a highway

1 3.2

A place on a road where drivers stop to pay money

1 3.2

A bridge you pay to cross

A cookie with chocolate chips made from the original Toll House recipe

A person who takes money from drivers at a road or bridge

1 4.4

A person who collects money from drivers at a toll booth

1 4.9

A phone call to another city that costs more than a local call

5.6

A phone connection for long distance calls that costs extra

A person who collects money from drivers at a toll booth

How Loud

clang
28 3.9
to peal
1 6.4
toll
20 6.3
chime
23 1.7
to tinkle
15 3.9

Surface Forms

toll singular
tolls plural

Etymology

Toll for the slow sound of a bell comes from an old English word meaning 'to strike', so it names that slow, repeated ringing you hear at funerals or solemn events.