noun
- a small, circular band of metal, etc., esp. of precious metal, often set with gems, for wearing on the finger as an ornament or a symbol of betrothal, marriage, etc.
- any similar band, as of metal, plastic, etc., used for some special purpose: a key ring, a napkin ring
- a circular line, mark, or figure
- the outer edge or border of something circular; rim, as of a wheel
- a circular cut made, or a circle of bark cut from, around the trunk or a branch of a tree
- annual ring
- any of the turns in a helix or spiral
- a circular course, as in dancing
- a number of people or things grouped in a circle
- ☆ a group of people working together to advance their own interests, esp. by questionable or illegal manipulation and control, as in business, politics, etc.
- an enclosed area, often circular, for contests, exhibitions, etc.: a circus ring
- an enclosure, now usually a square, canvas-covered area set off by stakes and ropes, in which boxing and wrestling matches are held
- the sport or profession of boxing; prizefighting: with the
- Gym. two wooden rings suspended from a ceiling, used for acrobatic feats and routines: usually with the
- Gym. a competitive event in which the rings are used: usually with the
- a contest or competition, esp. a political one, as in throw one's hat into the ring
- Astron. a flat, thin, reflective band of orbiting particles, probably ice crystals and dust, encircling a planet, as Saturn or Uranus, along its equatorial plane at altitudes below the Roche limit
- Chem. closed chain
- Geom. the space between two concentric circles
- Math. a set of elements that has two operations, addition and multiplication, and the properties of being a commutative group under addition, of being closed and associative under multiplication and addition, and in which multiplication is distributive over addition
Origin:
ME < OE hring, akin to OHG, ON hringr, Du ring, Goth *hrings < IE *(s)krengh- < base *(s)ker-, to turn, bend > Gr kirkos, ring, L cortina, round vessel
transitive verb ringed, ringing
- to surround or encircle with or as with a ring
- to form into a ring or rings
- to furnish with a ring or rings
- to put a ring through the nose of (an animal), as to prevent rooting or fighting
- to circle about and so hem in (animals)
- in some games, to toss a ring, horseshoe, quoit, etc. so that it encircles (a peg)
- to girdle (a tree)