bel

[ bel ]

/ bɛl /

noun Physics.

a unit of power ratio, equal to 10 decibels.

QUIZZES

TAKE THIS QUIZ TO SEE WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL PUNCTUATION!

Commas mark divisions in sentences. Periods end declarative sentences. Apostrophes show possession. Easy, right? Well, punctuation can get pretty tricky—fast. Think you got what it takes to be a punctuation expert? Take our quiz to prove it!

Question 1 of 10

Which of the options below is the best punctuation for the sentence? It__s your turn to pick the movie __ but your sister gets to pick the board game we _ re going to play.

Its your turn to pick the movie but your sister gets to pick the board game we’re going to play.

It’s your turn to pick the movie but your sister gets to pick the board game were going to play.

It’s your turn to pick the movie, but your sister gets to pick the board game we’re going to play.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of bel

First recorded in 1925–30; named after A. G. Bell

Words nearby bel

bejesus, bejewel, bejewelled, bekaa, bekhterev, bel, bel and the dragon, bel canto, bel esprit, bel paese, bel-esprit

Definition for bel (2 of 3)

bel²

[ bel ]

/ bɛl /

noun

bael.

Definition for bel (3 of 3)

Bel.

Belgian.

Belgic.

Belgium.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for bel

I was sitting in this big empty house in Bel Air, with a phone with five extensions which we no longer needed.
Joan Rivers: Our Last Interview|Tim Teeman|September 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Brooks: We holed up in the Bel Air Hotel, where Gene was staying, and we acted all the parts out.
Mel Brooks Is Always Funny and Often Wise in This 1975 Playboy Interview|Alex Belth|February 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I was sitting in his Bel Air home interviewing him and he had some friends over.
More Rich, High-Powered Women Are Turning to Matchmakers to Find Love|Paula Froelich|August 15, 2012|DAILY BEAST
People like to say his office is the back booth at the Bel Air Hotel.
The Conrad Murray Trial That Wasn’t|Amy Ephron|September 29, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Thus spoke Elizabeth Taylor when I was visiting her at her home in Bel Air in 1997 for a cover story about her for POZ magazine.
Elizabeth Taylor Interview About Her AIDS Advocacy|Kevin Sessums|March 23, 2011|DAILY BEAST
She was prevented from answering by Bel, who elbowed the boy aside and caught her by the shoulders.
Linda Lee, Incorporated|Louis Joseph Vance
And the king said to him: Doth not Bel seem to thee to be a living God?
The Dore Gallery of Bible Illustrations, Complete|Anonymous
From the beginning they have insisted that the art of bel canto is lost.
The Head Voice and Other Problems|D. A. Clippinger
The latter calls the goddess 'the mother of the gods,' which further establishes her identity with the consort of Bel.
The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria|Morris Jastrow
Lastly, Bel cut his own head off, and with the blood the gods mixed clay and made men.
Myth, Ritual, and Religion, Vol. 1|Andrew Lang

British Dictionary definitions for bel (1 of 2)

bel

/ (bɛl) /

noun

a unit for comparing two power levels, equal to the logarithm to the base ten of the ratio of the two powersSymbols: B, b See also decibel

Word Origin for bel

C20: named after Alexander Graham Bell

British Dictionary definitions for bel (2 of 2)

Bel

/ (beɪl) /

noun

(in Babylonian and Assyrian mythology) the god of the earth

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for bel

bel

[ bĕl ]

n.

A unit expressing the relative intensity of a sound, equal to ten decibels.

Scientific definitions for bel

bel

[ bĕl ]

A unit of measurement equal to ten decibels.