Bell Definition

bĕl
bells
noun
bells
A hollow metal musical instrument, usually cup-shaped with a flared opening, that emits a metallic tone when struck.
American Heritage
A hollow object, usually cuplike, made of metal or other hard material which rings when struck, as by a clapper inside.
Webster's New World
Something resembling such an instrument in shape or sound, as:
American Heritage
Such an object rung to mark the hours or the beginning and end of a period of time.
Webster's New World
A stroke on a hollow metal instrument to mark the hour.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
verb
bells
To put a bell on.
American Heritage
To utter long, deep, resonant sounds; bellow.
American Heritage
To attach a bell or bells to.
Webster's New World
To flare out like a bell.
Webster's New World
To cause to flare like a bell.
American Heritage
pronoun

A Scottish and northern English surname for a bell ringer, bellmaker, or from someone who lived "at the Bell (inn)"

Wiktionary
The Bell telephone company (after Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone.)
Wiktionary
A male given name occasionally transferred from the surname.
Wiktionary

A female given name, a variant of Belle; mostly used as a middle name in the 19th century.

Wiktionary
idiom
bell the cat
  • To perform a daring act.
American Heritage

Other Word Forms of Bell

Noun

Singular:
bell
Plural:
bells

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Bell

Origin of Bell

  • From Old English belle, from Proto-Germanic *bellǭ. Cognate with Dutch bel.

    From Wiktionary

  • From Middle English bellen to bellow from Old English bellan

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Old English bellan. Cognate with German bellen (“to bark”).

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English belle from Old English

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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