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

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 • Nov. 28, 2025

"It was really fun for us to put them through the ringer and to basically have them look at each other and say: 'Are these differences too much for our partnership to succeed?'"

From Barron's • Nov. 25, 2025

Could he be a ringer in Duke intramural basketball?

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2025

Tom Hollander is a dead ringer for Capote, while Naomi Watts’ Babe Paley is stunning and tragic.

From Salon • Dec. 20, 2024

And I had one ringer where the shoe wrapped itself around the top of the post, spun around a couple of times, and then dropped onto the sand.

From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt