chime
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.
- Often chimes.
- a set of bells or of slabs of metal, stone, wood, etc., producing musical tones when struck.
- a musical instrument consisting of such a set, especially a glockenspiel.
- the musical tones thus produced.
- carillon.
- harmonious sound in general; music; melody.
- harmonious relation; accord: the battling duo, in chime at last.
- to sound harmoniously or in chimes as a set of bells: The church bells chimed at noon.
- to produce a musical sound by striking a bell, gong, etc.; ring chimes: The doorbell chimed.
- to speak in cadence or singsong.
- to harmonize; agree: The scenery chimed perfectly with the play's eerie mood.
- to give forth (music, sound, etc.), as a bell or bells.
- to strike (a bell, set of bells, etc.) so as to produce musical sound.
- to put, bring, indicate, announce, etc., by chiming: Bells chimed the hour.
- to utter or repeat in cadence or singsong: The class chimed a greeting to the new teacher.
- chime in,
- to break suddenly and unwelcomely into a conversation, as to express agreement or voice an opinion.
- to harmonize with, as in singing.
- to be consistent or compatible; agree: The new building will not chime in with the surrounding architecture.
Origin of chime
1Examples from the Web for chimed
Contemporary Examples of chimed
"Perry" chimed in: "They don't want to take blame," he said of the police union attacking De Blasio.
Even Xi chimed in on the debate the other day by saying that the blue in ‘APEC blue’ should remain permanent.
“Lorena Bobbitt has committed the ultimate revolutionary act of contemporary feminism,” chimed Camille Paglia.
Her red-haired friend Svetlana chimed in, “Between two evils we choose Russia.”
Then came a moment of hesitation, and Mei chimed, “Maybe just a bit.”
Historical Examples of chimed
And even Willy Bartlett chimed in with an unemotional: "Good work!"
The Fortune HunterLouis Joseph Vance
There was a freedom and freshness in the sound and in the time, which chimed exactly with his mood.
Barnaby RudgeCharles Dickens
"I 'll guard it like goold, sir; that you may depend on," chimed in the landlord.
Davenport Dunn, Volume 2 (of 2)Charles James Lever
"A gallant soldier, I have heard," chimed in Classon, merely to lead him on.
Davenport Dunn, Volume 2 (of 2)Charles James Lever
"I'll tell you how they do it, sir," chimed in Father Maher.
The Martins Of Cro' Martin, Vol. II (of II)Charles James Lever
chime
1- an individual bell or the sound it makes when struck
- (often plural) the machinery employed to sound a bell in this way
- 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
- a harmonious or ringing soundthe chimes of children's laughter
- agreement; concord
- to sound (a bell) or (of a bell) to be sounded by a clapper or hammer
- to produce (music or sounds) by chiming
- (tr) to indicate or show (time or the hours) by chiming
- (tr) to summon, announce, or welcome by ringing bells
- (intr foll by with) to agree or harmonize
- to speak or recite in a musical or rhythmic manner
Word Origin for chime
chime
2chimb chine (tʃaɪn)
- the projecting edge or rim of a cask or barrel
Word Origin for chime
Word Origin and History for chimed
chime
c.1300, chymbe "cymbal," from Old English cymbal, cimbal, also perhaps through Old French chimbe or directly from Latin cymbalum (see cymbal, the modern word for what this word originally meant). Evidently the word was misinterpreted as chymbe bellen (c.1300) and its sense shifted to "chime bells," a meaning attested from mid-15c.
chime
mid-14c., chyme, from chime (n.). Originally of metal, etc.; of voices from late 14c. To chime in originally was musical, "join harmoniously;" of conversation by 1838. Related: Chimed; chiming.