bell (n.)

  1. a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck

  2. the flared opening of a tubular device

  3. a push button at an outer door that gives a ringing or buzzing signal when pushed

    [ Syn: doorbell , buzzer ]

  4. the sound of a bell being struck; saved by the bell; she heard the distant toll of church bells

    [ Syn: toll ]

  5. (nautical) each of the eight half-hour units of nautical time signaled by strokes of a ships bell; eight bells signals 4:00, 8:00, or 12:00 oclock, either a.m. or p.m.

    [ Syn: ships bell ]

  6. the shape of a bell

    [ Syn: bell shape , campana ]

  7. a phonetician and father of Alexander Graham Bell (1819-1905)

    [ Syn: bell , melville bell , alexander melville bell ]

  8. English painter; sister of Virginia Woolf; prominent member of the Bloomsbury Group (1879-1961)

    [ Syn: bell , vanessa bell , vanessa stephen ]

  9. United States inventor (born in Scotland) of the telephone (1847-1922)

    [ Syn: bell , alexander bell , alexander graham bell ]

  10. a percussion instrument consisting of a set of tuned bells that are struck with a hammer; used as an orchestral instrument

    [ Syn: chime , gong ]

    bell (v.)

  1. attach a bell to; bell cows'

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.