bell Hear it!

bell1 definition

bell (bel)

noun

  1. a hollow object, usually cuplike, made of metal or other hard material which rings when struck, as by a clapper inside
  2. such an object rung to mark the hours or the beginning and end of a period of time
  3. the sound made by a bell
  4. anything shaped like a bell, as a flower, the flare of a horn, etc.
  5. a musical instrument made up of a series of tuned metal bars or hollow tubes that are sounded by striking; specif.,
    1. glockenspiel
    2. chimes
  6. Naut.
    1. a bell rung every half hour during each of the five four-hour watches and during the four-hour period comprising the two dog watches: the series of rings begins at one bell (12:30, 4:30, and 8:30 o'clock) and ends at eight bells (4:00, 8:00, and 12:00 o'clock)
    2. any of these half-hour periods

Etymology: ME & OE belle < IE base *bhel-, to sound, roar (orig. ? echoic) > bellow, ON belja, to roar

transitive verb

  1. to attach a bell or bells to
  2. to shape like a bell

intransitive verb

to flare out like a bell
bell2 definition

bell (bel)

noun

a bellow; roar

Etymology: ME bellen < OE bellan: see bell

intransitive verb

to utter long, deep sounds, as a hound in pursuit of game; bay; bellow
Bell definition

Bell (bel)

  1. Bell, Alexander Graham 1847-1922; U.S. inventor of the telephone, born in Scotland
  2. pseudonym for the Brontë sisters
  3. Bell, Daniel 1919-; U.S. sociologist

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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