Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

death bell

American  

noun

  1. the bell that announces a death.


Etymology

Origin of death bell

First recorded in 1730–40

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:

Gitl began reciting the Kaddish, rocking back and forth on the sleeping shelf with the sonorous words, and the prayer was like the tolling of a death bell.

From "The Devil's Arithmetic" by Jane Yolen

She came and said to him, "My Edwin, live for me;" but on her way home she heard the death bell toll.

From Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1 A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook by Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham

The Curfew Bell is rung, and not tolled, as Reginald states: therefore, what he heard, I suppose to have been the death bell.

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 19, No. 545, May 5, 1832 by Various

The jester, the black company and the penitents, together with the roysterers, form now the foreground, now the background, of action, which in itself is never without the dolorous sound of the death bell.

From Freedom, Truth and Beauty by Doyle, Edward

Thus the death bell at Axbridge, Somerset, states, For homesoever this bell doth toll The Lord have mercy on that sole!

From Curious Church Customs and Cognate Subjects by Andrews, William

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training