chime

¹ American  

[chahym] / tʃaɪm /

noun

1. an apparatus for striking a bell so as to produce a musical sound, as one at the front door of a house by which visitors announce their presence.

2. Often chimes

   1. a set of bells or of slabs of metal, stone, wood, etc., producing musical tones when struck.

   2. a musical instrument consisting of such a set, especially a glockenspiel.

   3. the musical tones thus produced.

   4. carillon.

3. harmonious sound in general; music; melody.

4. harmonious relation; accord.

   the battling duo, in chime at last.

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verb (used without object)

• chimes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• chimed,
  past participle,  past
• chiming
  present participle

1. to sound harmoniously or in chimes as a set of bells.

   The church bells chimed at noon.

2. to produce a musical sound by striking a bell, gong, etc.; ring chimes.

   The doorbell chimed.

3. to speak in cadence or singsong.

4. to harmonize; agree.

   The scenery chimed perfectly with the play's eerie mood.

verb (used with object)

• chimes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• chimed,
  past participle,  past
• chiming
  present participle

1. to give forth (music, sound, etc.), as a bell or bells.

2. to strike (a bell, set of bells, etc.) so as to produce musical sound.

3. to put, bring, indicate, announce, etc., by chiming.

   Bells chimed the hour.

4. to utter or repeat in cadence or singsong.

   The class chimed a greeting to the new teacher.

verb phrase

1. chime in

   1. to break suddenly and unwelcomely into a conversation, as to express agreement or voice an opinion.

   2. to harmonize with, as in singing.

   3. to be consistent or compatible; agree.

      The new building will not chime in with the surrounding architecture.

chime ² American  

[chahym] / tʃaɪm /

Also chimb,

noun

1. the edge or brim of a cask, barrel, or the like, formed by the ends of the staves projecting beyond the head or bottom.

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chime ¹ British  

/ tʃaɪm /

noun

1. an individual bell or the sound it makes when struck

2. (often plural) the machinery employed to sound a bell in this way

3. Also called: bell. a percussion instrument consisting of a set of vertical metal tubes of graduated length, suspended in a frame and struck with a hammer

4. a harmonious or ringing sound

   the chimes of children's laughter

5. agreement; concord

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verb

1. 1. to sound (a bell) or (of a bell) to be sounded by a clapper or hammer

   2. to produce (music or sounds) by chiming

2. (tr) to indicate or show (time or the hours) by chiming

3. (tr) to summon, announce, or welcome by ringing bells

4. to agree or harmonize

5. to speak or recite in a musical or rhythmic manner

chime ² British  

/ tʃaɪm /

noun

1. the projecting edge or rim of a cask or barrel

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• chimer
  noun
• unchiming
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• chiming
  present
• chimed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• chime
  simple
• chimes
  simple
• have chimed
  perfect
• has chimed
  perfect
• am chiming
  progressive
• are chiming
  progressive
• is chiming
  progressive
• have been chiming
  perfect progressive
• has been chiming
  perfect progressive

Past

• chimed
  simple
• had chimed
  perfect
• was chiming
  progressive
• were chiming
  progressive
• had been chiming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will chime
  simple
• will have chimed
  perfect
• will be chiming
  progressive
• will have been chiming
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of chime¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English chymbe belle “cymbal, chime,” literally, “chime bell,” by false analysis of chimbel, chimble, from Old English cimbal, cimbala, or from Old French chimbe, variant of cimbe, cimble cymbal

Origin of chime²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English chimb(e) “rim of a barrel”; compare Old English cimbing “joining, joint,” cim-stānas “bases of a pillar”; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle Dutch kimme “edge”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chime chimes chimed chiming

But for event organisers, the prices chime with wider trends.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Martin's words, Cooper-Lesadd said, "just completely did not chime with the type of person that I am and the values that I have".

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

By calling for the early review, the FCC allowed petitioners and ordinary residents to chime in on the stations’ operations and ABC network programming.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

The resulting furor reached the level that “Saturday Night Live” felt the need to chime in over the weekend, pointing out that Chalamet was lobbing stones from inside a glass house.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 9, 2026

As I walked out the bedroom door, my father’s wife’s ankle bells began to chime.

From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat

Spiritual jazz and psychedelic soul are cornerstones of her sound, along with new-age accouterments like prayer bowls and chimes blended with instruments including Fender Rhodes keyboards and vibraphone.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Then came a symphony of chimes, crystal bowls, wave drums and rain sticks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

Barry chimes in gloomily, “I’m a surgeon and I can’t afford to buy a house.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

I’d be curious if Peters chimes in on the question, having changed his mind on acquisitions not long ago.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

The book chimes, and Suma’s mom kissing a holographic Suma, who’s rolling her eyes, pops up between us.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

Piecha started posting her findings of the “swarm-shaped” messages to the social-media site X. Other researchers chimed in with new findings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

The leaders of other major AI companies chimed in with supportive views on X. “I agree with Dario that we need to pace the frontier,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 12, 2026

Anthropic safety executive Evan Hubinger chimed in on X, estimating the risk at more than 10 percent over the next decade.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

“But it didn’t,” chimed in her friend, Lakshita Singhania.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

“We have ginger ale and Moxie,” Marion chimed in.

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

And finally, they’ll discuss why Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s latest market tinkering has everyone chiming in.

From Slate ● Aug. 29, 2026

He went on to form The Smiths with Morrissey in 1982, defining an entire era of indie music with his intricate, chiming tones - rooted in British pop, while stubbornly avoiding cliché.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

In the years that followed, whenever she popped up in the news, Trump couldn’t stop himself from chiming in.

From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026

The sound bath and a chiming bell provide a resonant echo in which attendees visibly relax, most with their eyes closed.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026

The hall clock began chiming, and she counted twelve strokes before it fell silent.

From "Ash" by Malinda Lo

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