ringer

¹ American  

[ring-er] / ˈrɪŋ ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that encircles, rings, etc.

2. a quoit or horseshoe so thrown as to encircle the peg.

3. the throw itself.

4. Also called ring taw.  Marbles. Also ringers a game in which players place marbles in a cross marked in the center of a circle, the object being to knock as many marbles as possible outside the circle by using another marble shooter.

5. Australian. a highly skilled sheep shearer.

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ringer ² American  

[ring-er] / ˈrɪŋ ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that rings or makes a ringing noise.

   a ringer of bells;

   a bell that is a loud ringer.

2. dead ringer.

   Synonyms:

   spitting image, look-alike, duplicate, double, doppelgänger

3. Slang.

   1. a racehorse, athlete, or the like entered in a competition under false representation as to identity or ability.

   2. a student paid by another to take an exam.

   3. any person or thing that is fraudulent; fake or impostor.

   4. a substitute or addition, as a professional musician hired to strengthen a school orchestra.

      We hired three ringers for the commencement concert.

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ringer British  

/ ˈrɪŋə /

noun

1. a person or thing that rings a bell

2. Also called: dead ringer.  slang a person or thing that is almost identical to another

3. slang a stolen vehicle the identity of which has been changed by the use of the licence plate, serial number, etc, of another, usually disused, vehicle

4. a contestant, esp a horse, entered in a competition under false representations of identity, record, or ability

5. the fastest shearer in a shed

6. informal the fastest or best at anything

7. a quoit thrown so as to encircle a peg

8. such a throw

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Etymology

Origin of ringer¹

First recorded in 1815–25; ring ¹ + -er ¹

Origin of ringer²

First recorded in 1375–1425; ring ² + -er ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

My phone lives in the bathroom in a charger with the ringer on.

From The Wall Street Journal

Mrs. Adler flips her ringer on, then slips her phone in the pocket of her shirt or pajama top or whatever it is.

From Literature

The appeals court said those earlier statues were “historical dead ringers.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Retired nurse Nancy Reed has been through the ringer trying to get insurance for her home next to a San Diego County nature preserve.

From Los Angeles Times

A weirdo dog lets you “show your individuality,” said Terence Nelson, 38, an influencer marketing strategist in New York whose fuzzy Brussels griffon, Sue, is a dead ringer for an Ewok.

From The Wall Street Journal