bell
1[ bel ]
/ bɛl /
Save This Word!
noun
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
to take or have the form of a bell.
Botany. to produce bells; be in bell (said of hops when the seed vessels are forming).
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Idioms about bell
Origin of bell
1First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English belle; cognate with Dutch bel; derivative of bell2
OTHER WORDS FROM bell
bell-less, adjectiveOther definitions for bell (2 of 3)
bell2
[ bel ]
/ bɛl /
verb (used with or without object)
to bellow like a stag in rutting time.
to bay, as a hunting dog.
noun
the cry of a rutting stag or hunting dog.
Other definitions for bell (3 of 3)
Bell
[ bel ]
/ bɛl /
noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use bell in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for bell (1 of 3)
bell1
/ (bɛl) /
noun
verb
Word Origin for bell
Old English belle; related to Old Norse bjalla, Middle Low German bell; see bell ²
British Dictionary definitions for bell (2 of 3)
bell2
/ (bɛl) /
noun
a bellowing or baying cry, esp that of a hound or a male deer in rut
verb
to utter (such a cry)
Word Origin for bell
Old English bellan; related to Old Norse belja to bellow, Old High German bellan to roar, Sanskrit bhāsate he talks; see bellow
British Dictionary definitions for bell (3 of 3)
Bell
/ (bɛl) /
noun
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
Scientific definitions for bell
Bell
[ bĕl ]
Scottish-born American scientist and inventor whose lifelong interest in the education of deaf people led him to conceive the idea of transmitting speech by electric waves. In 1876 his experiments with a telegraph resulted in his invention of the telephone. He later produced the first successful sound recorder, an early hearing aid, and many other devices.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with bell
bell
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.