sleigh bell

American  

noun

1. any of several kinds of small bells, as a jingle bell, attached to a sleigh or to the harness of the animal drawing the sleigh.

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Etymology

Origin of sleigh bell

An Americanism dating back to 1765–75

Example Sentences

Butter Bean, an elderly canine of terrier extraction, trots around the house in a sweater vest bearing a jangling sleigh bell.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2024

“The cello melody, the idea of these huge beats, the weird sleigh bell — ” The sleigh bell?

From New York Times • May 6, 2021

It’s beautifully produced: the opening acoustic guitar work adds a really strong, incessant beat underneath the tune, and there’s not a sleigh bell to be heard.

From The Guardian • Dec. 22, 2016

Not a footfall, not a sleigh bell; not another light in sight, but only the moon.

From The End of a Coil by Warner, Susan

Well, perhaps not the sleigh bell or the dinner bell.

From The Invisible Censor by Hackett, Francis