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ring
1[ring]
noun
Also called finger ring. a typically circular band of metal or other durable material, especially one of gold or other precious metal, often set with gems, for wearing on the finger as an ornament, a token of betrothal or marriage, etc.
a similar band of metal or other durable material worn as an ornament on another part of the body, such as on the toe or in a piercing.
anything resembling a band or circle.
Fluff the napkins and pull them through the napkin rings.
He lit his cigarette and blew a smoke ring.
a circular or surrounding line or mark.
After a long, sleepless night, there were dark rings around his eyes.
a circular course.
A group of us kids were playing one of those games where you have to dance in a ring.
a number of people or things situated in a circle or in an approximately circular arrangement: a ring of hills;
a ring of stones;
a ring of hills;
a ring of spectators.
the outside edge of a circular object; rim.
When the two coins are compared, there are differences in the color of the brass alloy used for the outer ring.
an enclosed area, often circular, as for a sports contest or exhibition.
a circus ring.
a bullring.
an enclosure in which boxing and wrestling matches take place, usually consisting of a square, canvas-covered platform with surrounding ropes that are supported at each corner by posts.
It was nearly a year before he recovered from his injuries and was ready to box again, but he's back in the ring tonight.
the sport of boxing; prizefighting.
In the heyday of the ring, fighters could make a living at their sport.
(formerly in the United States, now only in Britain) an area in a racetrack where bookmakers take bets.
a group of people cooperating for unethical, illicit, or illegal purposes, such as to control stock-market prices, manipulate politicians, or elude the law.
The police busted a ring of smugglers.
a single turn in a spiral or helix or in a spiral course.
Geometry., the area or space between two concentric circles.
a circle of bark cut from around a tree.
Chemistry., a number of atoms so united that they may be graphically represented in cyclic form.
Architecture., rowlock.
Nautical., a bowlike or circular piece at the top of an anchor, to which the chain or cable is secured.
Also called spinning ring. Textiles., (in aring-spinning frame ) a circular track of highly polished steel on which the traveler moves and which twists the yarn by variations in its vertical movement.
Also called ring gauge. a unit of measurement of the diameter of cigars, equal to 1/64 of an inch.
Automotive, Machinery., piston ring.
Mathematics., a set that is closed under the operations of addition and multiplication and that is an Abelian group with respect to addition and an associative semigroup with respect to multiplication and in which the distributive laws relating the two operations hold.
verb (used with object)
to surround; encircle.
The lake is ringed with forest and farmland.
to hem in (animals) by riding or circling about them.
The cowboys ringed the cattle they would be driving to market.
(in horseshoes, ringtoss, etc.) to encircle (a stake or peg) with a ring, horseshoe, etc.
to insert a ring through the nose of (an animal).
verb (used without object)
to form a ring or rings.
A crowd of onlookers ringed around the man who had fallen.
to move in a ring or a constantly curving course.
The road rings around the mountain.
ring
2[ring]
verb (used without object)
to give forth a clear resonant sound, as a bell when struck.
The doorbell rang twice.
to make a given impression on the mind; appear.
words that rang false; a story that rings true.
to cause a bell or bells to sound, especially as a summons.
Just ring if you need anything.
to sound loudly; be loud or resonant; resound (often followed byout ).
His brave words rang out.
to be filled with sound; reecho with sound, as a place.
(of the ears) to have the sensation of a continued humming sound.
Chiefly British., to telephone.
verb (used with object)
to cause (a bell or device with a bell) to ring; sound by striking.
to ring a bell.
to produce (sound) by or as if by ringing.
The bell rang a low tone.
to announce or proclaim, usher in or out, summon, signal, etc., by or as if by the sound of a bell.
to ring someone's praises; The bell rang the hour.
to test (a coin or other metal object) by the sound it produces when struck against something.
Chiefly British., to telephone.
noun
a ringing sound, as of a bell or bells.
the ring of sleigh bells.
a sound or tone likened to the ringing of a bell.
Rings of laughter issued from the school.
any loud sound; sound continued, repeated, or reverberated.
the ring of iron upon stone.
a set or peal of bells.
a telephone call.
Give me a ring tomorrow.
an act or instance of ringing a bell.
No one answered my ring.
a characteristic sound, as of a coin.
the aspect or impression presented by a statement, an action, etc., taken as revealing a specified inherent quality.
a ring of assurance in her voice; the ring of truth; a false ring.
verb phrase
ring in
to indicate one's arrival at work by punching in on a time clock.
Informal., to introduce artfully or fraudulently.
to ring in an imposter.
ring off
to terminate a telephone conversation.
British Slang., to stop talking.
British Slang., to go away.
ring up
to register (the amount of a sale) on a cash register.
to accomplish or record.
to ring up a series of successes.
Chiefly British., to telephone.
ring out
to indicate one's departure from work by punching out on a time clock.
to make a sound or noise; resound.
The church bells rang out.
Ring
3[ring]
noun
a male given name.
ring
1/ rɪŋ /
noun
a circular band usually of a precious metal, esp gold, often set with gems and worn upon the finger as an adornment or as a token of engagement or marriage
any object or mark that is circular in shape
a circular path or course
to run around in a ring
a group of people or things standing or arranged so as to form a circle
a ring of spectators
an enclosed space, usually circular in shape, where circus acts are performed
a square apron or raised platform, marked off by ropes, in which contestants box or wrestle
the sport of boxing
the field of competition or rivalry
to announce one's intention to be a candidate or contestant
a group of people usually operating illegally and covertly
a drug ring
a paedophile ring
(esp at country fairs) an enclosure, often circular, where horses, cattle, and other livestock are paraded and auctioned
an area reserved for betting at a racecourse
a circular strip of bark cut from a tree or branch, esp in order to kill it
a single turn in a spiral
geometry the area of space lying between two concentric circles
maths a set that is subject to two binary operations, addition and multiplication, such that the set is an Abelian group under addition and is closed under multiplication, this latter operation being associative
botany short for annual ring
Also called: closed chain. chem a closed loop of atoms in a molecule
astronomy any of the thin circular bands of small bodies orbiting a giant planet, esp Saturn See also Saturn 2
informal, to be greatly superior to; outclass completely
verb
to surround with or as if with or form a ring; encircle
to mark (a bird) with a ring or clip for subsequent identification
to fit a ring in the nose of (a bull, pig, etc) so that it can be led easily
Also: ringbark.
to cut away a circular strip of bark from (a tree or branch) in order to kill it
to cut a narrow or partial ring from (the trunk of a tree) in order to check or prevent vigorous growth
to be the fastest shearer in a shearing shed (esp in the phrase ring the shed )
ring
2/ rɪŋ /
verb
to emit or cause to emit a sonorous or resonant sound, characteristic of certain metals when struck
to cause (a bell) to emit a ringing sound by striking it once or repeatedly or (of a bell) to emit such a sound
(tr) to cause (a large bell, esp a church bell) to emit a ringing sound by pulling on a rope that is attached to a wheel on which the bell swings back and forth, being sounded by a clapper inside it Compare chime 1
(intr) (of a bell) to sound by being swung in this way
(intr) (of a building, place, etc) to be filled with sound; echo
the church rang with singing
to call by means of a bell, buzzer, etc
to ring for the butler
Also: ring up. to call (a person) by telephone
(tr) to strike or tap (a coin) in order to assess its genuineness by the sound produced
(intr) (of the ears) to have or give the sensation of humming or ringing
(intr) electronics (of an electric circuit) to produce a damped oscillatory wave after the application of a sharp input transition
slang, to change the identity of (a stolen vehicle) by using the licence plate, serial number, etc, of another, usually disused, vehicle
to sound familiar; remind one of something, esp indistinctly
to lower the curtain at the end of a theatrical performance
(foll by on) to put an end (to)
to give the impression of being false
to do, say, or be the right thing
to reach the pinnacle of success or happiness
to vary the manner or performance of an action that is often repeated
to give the impression of being true
that story doesn't ring true
noun
the act of or a sound made by ringing
a sound produced by or suggestive of a bell
any resonant or metallic sound, esp one sustained or re-echoed
the ring of trumpets
informal, a telephone call
he gave her a ring last night
the complete set of bells in a tower or belfry See peal 1
a ring of eight bells
an inherent quality or characteristic
his explanation has the ring of sincerity
electronics the damped oscillatory wave produced by a circuit that rings
ring
A set of elements subject to the operations of addition and multiplication, in which the set is an abelian group under addition and associative under multiplication and in which the two operations are related by distributive laws.
A group of atoms linked by bonds that may be represented graphically in circular or triangular form. Benzene, for example, contains a ring of six carbon atoms. All cyclic compounds contain one or more rings.
See annulus
See growth ring
Usage
Other Word Forms
- ringless adjective
- ringlike adjective
- ringingly adverb
- ringingness noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of ring1
Origin of ring2
Word History and Origins
Origin of ring1
Origin of ring2
Idioms and Phrases
run rings around, to be obviously superior to; surpass; outdo.
As an artist, she can run rings around her brother.
throw / toss one's hat in the ring. hat.
ring the changes. change.
ring down the curtain,
to direct that the curtain of a theater be lowered or closed.
to lower or close the curtain in front of a stage.
ring down the curtain on, to bring to an end.
The accident rang down the curtain on his law career.
ring up the curtain on, to begin; inaugurate; initiate.
The $100-a-plate dinner rang up the curtain on the hospital's fund-raising drive.
ring the / someone's bell. bell.
ring up the curtain,
to direct that the curtain of a theater be raised or opened.
to raise or open the curtain in front of a stage.
ring a bell. bell.
More idioms and phrases containing ring
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
"The warning bell that rang in the labour market a month ago just got louder," said Olu Sonola, head of US economic research for Fitch Ratings.
My mum rang them back to ask what it is that she needs to improve on, and just never got the call back.
"We're in the Instagram age, people are doing Zoom calls. The amount of people ringing in saying 'my God I see my head on the camera every day and I don't like it'," said Rush.
Gustavson was jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years at the Old Bailey in 2024 for leading an extreme body modification ring.
Now Historic England experts have narrowed the minimum age range down by counting the tree's rings in a cross-section of trunk, with the wood considered to be in "good condition".
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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