Bells definitions and example sentences on Wordnik

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Definitions (85)

American Heritage Dictionary (14)

noun A hollow metal musical instrument, usually cup-shaped with a flared opening, that emits a metallic tone when struck.
noun Something resembling such an instrument in shape or sound, as:
noun The round, flared opening of a wind instrument at the opposite end from the mouthpiece.

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Century Dictionary (55)

A hollow metallic instrument which gives forth a ringing sound, generally of a musical quality, when struck with a clapper, hammer, or other appliance. Its usual shape resembles that of an inverted cup with a flaring rim. If the bell is stationary, it is often made saucer-shaped, and in this case is commonly termed a gong. Bells of this form are generally used as call-bells or signal-bells. Bells are made for many purposes and in a great variety of forms and sizes. They usually consist of an alloy of copper and tin, called bell-metal (which see). Church-bells are known to have been in use in Italy about a. d. 400, and in France in the sixth century. The earlier bells were often four-sided, made of thin plates of iron riveted together. The manufacture of the largest and finest bells has been developed since the fifteenth century. The largest ever made is the great bell of Moscow, called the Czar Kolokol, cast in 1733, and computed to weigh about 440,000 pounds. It is about 19 feet in diameter and the same in height. It is supposed never to have been hung, and is now used as a chapel, having been raised in 1836 after lying half buried since 1737, when a piece was broken out of its side in a fire. The largest bell in actual use weighs 128 tons, and is also in Moscow. The bell of the Buddhist monastery Chi-on, in Kioto, Japan, was cast in 1633, and weighs 125,000 catties, or over 74 tons of 2,240 pounds each. Among the great French bells, the bourdon of Notre Dame, Paris, weighs about 17 tons; the largest bell of Sens cathedral, 16 tons; and that of Amiens cathedral, 11 tons. In England, the “Big Ben” of Westminster weighs over 13 tons, but is cracked; the “Great Peter,” at York, 10 tons; and the “Great Tom,” at Oxford, 7 tons. The new “Kaiser-glocke” of Cologne cathedral weighs 25 tons. For church-bells made to be rung in unison, see chime. In heraldry, the bells generally represented are hawks' bells, in shape like a small sleigh-bell; a hawk represented with these bells attached is said to be belled. When a bell of ordinary form is used as a bearing, it is called church-bell for distinction. But what art thou that seyst this tale, That werest on thyn hose a pale, And on thy tipet such a belle? Chaucer, House of Fame, 1. 1841.
Anything in the form of a bell or compared to a bell. Specifically— A bell-shaped corolla of a flower. Where the bee sucks, there suck I; In a cowslip's bell I lie. Shak., Tempest, v. 1.
In architecture, the plain echinus of a Corinthian or composite capital, around which the foliage and volutes are arranged. Also called basket.

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In early clocks, the bells were the only thing that told you the time. — The Cold Moon
He hears the ringers practising in a neighbouring church, and the clashing of their bells was almost maddening. — Charles Dickens and Music
Personally, I always hoped the bells were the intro to "For Whom the Bell Tolls," but I'm a Metallica fan. — FanHouse
I think the souther bells are actually pretty chunky. — TVgasm Recaps
The mall says the bells are annoying store workers and shoppers.

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bells

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