Bell

UK: 'bell', 'Bell': /ˈbɛl/ US: /bɛl/ ,(bel)

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Bell / bɛl/ noun

1. Acton, Currer ( ˈkʌrə ), and Ellis. pen names of the sisters Anne, Charlotte, and Emily Brontë
2. Alexander Graham. 1847–1922, US scientist, born in Scotland, who invented the telephone (1876)
3. Sir Francis Henry Dillon. 1851–1936, New Zealand statesman; prime minister of New Zealand (1925)
4. Gertrude (Margaret Lowthian). 1868–1926, British traveller, writer, and diplomat; secretary to the British High Commissioner in Baghdad (1917–26)
5. Dame (Susan) Jocelyn, married name Jocelyn Burnell. born 1943, British radio astronomer, who discovered the first pulsar
6. Joshua. born 1967, US violinist
7. Vanessa, original name Vanessa Stephen. 1879–1961, British painter; a member of the Bloomsbury group, sister of Virginia Woolf and wife of the art critic Clive Bell (1881–1964)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

bell¹ /bɛl/   n. 

[countable]
1. Music and Dance a hollow metal instrument shaped like a cup that produces a ringing sound when struck:
   The church bells ring at 7:00.
2. Electronics any device, as an electronic circuit, that produces a similar sound:
   I rang the bell and waited for my first customer.
3. the stroke or sound of a bell:
   There's the bell; someone is at the door.
4. something in the form of a bell, as the open end of a musical wind instrument.

v. 

5. to put a bell on:
   [~ + object] belled the cat so birds would be able to hear it.
6. to take or have the form of a bell:
   [no object] The slacks belled out at the bottom.

Idioms

7. Idioms ring a bell, to call to mind, esp. a vague recollection:
   His name rings a bell but I can't quite remember.
8. Idioms saved by the bell,
   • Sport (of a boxer) saved from a knockout by a gong signaling the end of a round.
   • (of any person) spared from trouble by some outside event.

-bell-, root. 

1. -bell- comes from Latin, where it has the meaning "war.'' This meaning is found in such words as: antebellum, bellicose, belligerence, belligerent.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

bell¹  (bel), n. 

1. Music and Dance a hollow instrument of cast metal, typically cup-shaped with a flaring mouth, suspended from the vertex and rung by the strokes of a clapper, hammer, or the like.
2. the stroke or sound of such an instrument:
   We rose at the bell.
3. anything in the form of a bell.
4. the large end of a funnel, or the end of a pipe, tube, or any musical wind instrument, when its edge is turned out and enlarged.
5. Architecture the underlying part of a foliated capital.
6. Naval Terms [Naut.]
   • Naval Terms any of the half-hour units of nautical time rung on the bell of a ship.
   • Naval Terms each individual ring of the bell, counted with others to reckon the time:
     It is now four bells.
   • Naval Terms a signal on the telegraph of a large power vessel, made between the navigating officers and the engineer.
7. [Zool.] umbrella (def. 2).
8. [Bot.] the bell-shaped corolla of a flower.
9. Metallurgy a conical lid that seals the top of a blast furnace and lowers to admit a charge.
10. Idioms ring a bell, to evoke a memory, esp. a vague or partial recollection;
    remind one of something:
    His name rings a bell but I can't remember him.
11. Idioms ring the bell, to provide what is desired;
    be satisfactory or successful:
    This new book rings the bell with teenagers.
12. Idioms saved by the bell:
    • Sport (of a boxer) saved from a knockout by the ringing of a gong signaling the end of a round.
    • (of any person) spared from anticipated trouble by some extraneous event.
13. with bells on, [Informal.] eagerly;
    ready to enjoy oneself:
    Just say when, and we'll be there with bells on.

v.t. 

14. to cause to swell or expand like a bell (often fol. by out):
    Belling out the tubes will permit a freer passage of air.
15. to put a bell on.

v.i. 

16. to take or have the form of a bell.
17. [Bot.] to produce bells;
    be in bell (said of hops when the seed vessels are forming).
18. bell the cat. See cat ¹ (def. 15).

• bef. 1000; Middle English, Old English belle; cognate with Dutch bel; derivative of bell²

bell′-less′, adj. 

bell²  (bel), v.i., v.t. 

1. to bellow like a stag in rutting time.
2. to bay, as a hunting dog.

n. 

3. the cry of a rutting stag or hunting dog.

• 1275–1325; Middle English bellen, Old English bellan to roar; cognate with Old High German bellan (German bellen to bark), Middle Dutch bellen, belen, Old Norse belja; akin to Lithuanian bal̃sas voice, Sanskrit bhaṣ- bark, bhāṣ- speak. See bellow, belch

Bell  (bel), n. 

Ac•ton  (ak′tən), pen name of Anne Brontë.
1. Biographical Alexander Graham, 1847–1922, U.S. scientist, born in Scotland: inventor of the telephone.
2. Biographical (Arthur) Clive (Howard), 1881–1964, English critic of literature and art.
Cur•rer  (kûr′ər), pen name of Charlotte Brontë.
3. Biographical Ellis, pen name of Emily Brontë.
4. Biographical John, 1797–1869, U.S. political leader: Speaker of the House 1834–35.
5. Place Names a city in SW California, near Los Angeles. 25,450.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

bell / bɛl/ noun

1. a hollow, usually metal, cup-shaped instrument that emits a musical ringing sound when struck, often by a clapper hanging inside it
2. the sound made by such an instrument or device, as for showing the hours or marking the beginning or end of a period of time
3. an electrical device that rings or buzzes as a signal
4. the bowl-shaped termination of the tube of certain musical wind instruments, such as the trumpet or oboe
5. any musical percussion instrument emitting a ringing tone, such as a glockenspiel, one of a set of hand bells, etc
   Compare chime13
6. a signal rung on a ship's bell to count the number of half-hour intervals during each of six four-hour watches reckoned from midnight. Thus, one bell may signify 12.30, 4.30, or 8.30 a.m. or p.m.
7. See diving bell
8. a telephone call (esp in the phrase give someone a bell)
9. beat seven bells out of, knock seven bells out of ⇒ to give a severe beating to
10. bell, book, and candle ⇒ instruments used formerly in excommunications and other ecclesiastical acts
11. the solemn ritual ratification of such acts
12. ring a bell ⇒ to sound familiar; recall to the mind something previously experienced, esp indistinctly
13. sound as a bell ⇒ in perfect condition

verb

1. to be or cause to be shaped like a bell
2. (transitive) to attach a bell or bells to

Etymology: Old English belle; related to Old Norse bjalla, Middle Low German bell; see bell²

bell / bɛl/ noun

1. a bellowing or baying cry, esp that of a hound or a male deer in rut

verb

1. to utter (such a cry)

Etymology: Old English bellan; related to Old Norse belja to bellow, Old High German bellan to roar, Sanskrit bhāsate he talks; see bellow