bel
noun
a unit of power ratio, equal to 10 decibels.
bel
1 American
[bel]
/ bɛl /
noun
Physics.
bel
2
American
[bel]
/ bɛl /
noun
Bel.
3
American
abbreviation
-
Belgian.
-
Belgic.
-
Belgium.
bel
1
British
/ bɛl /
noun
Bel
2
British
/ beɪl /
noun
bel
Scientific
/ bĕl /
Etymology
Origin of bel
First recorded in 1925–30; named after A. G. Bell
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Like the two other bel canto works presented by the company so far this season—the new production of Bellini’s “La Sonnambula” and a revival of Donizetti’s “La Fille du Régiment”—it was luxuriously cast and conducted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
Her voice settled down in the second act, and she brought an appropriately old-fashioned feeling to “Un bel di,” her anticipation of a fine day as hopelessly unreal as everything on the stage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2024
Translating literally from the Italian into “beautiful singing,” bel canto is all about “appreciating the voices first and foremost,” says Peleggi.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 29, 2024
Born in New York in December 1923 to Greek parents, Callas was credited with reviving almost single-handedly the Italian bel canto vocal technique.
From Reuters ● Nov. 9, 2023
The goblet will still be in his room tomorrow, it must bel Let him hide it ever so well, I will find it somehow.
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
—Hah—hum—what's here— Bel. snatches her to his Bosom, as if she fainted.
From The Works of Aphra Behn, Volume III by Montague Summers
He hoped Bel. would honour him with his company at the small card-party he was giving there on Thursday.
From The Black Moth A Romance of the XVIIIth Century by Georgette Heyer
Bel was not a criminal or “the worst of the worst.”
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2026
The subject was in the headlines again this week when Bel Powley, who plays Petunia Dursley, told the Telegraph, external she "strongly disagrees" with the author.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Rojas said he also saved his vintage 1957 Chevy Bel Air.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2026
Gamco Investors did so through the sale of 14,988 Bel Fuse shares from Dec. 9, 2025, through Jan. 27, 2026, at per share prices ranging from $145.78 to $191.20.
From Barron's ● Feb. 7, 2026
I personally like Bel and the temple; it’s a good story, but with all the delays for translation it was going too slowly to hold people’s interest.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
