bell

1a : a hollow metallic device that gives off a reverberating sound when struck

b : doorbell

2a : the sounding of a bell as a signal

b : a stroke of a bell (as on shipboard) to indicate the time also : the time so indicated

c : a half hour period of a watch on shipboard indicated by the strokes of a bell — see Ship's Bells Table below

3 : something having the form of a bell: such as

a : the corolla of a flower

b : a bell-shaped organ or part (such as the umbrella of a jellyfish or the dewlap of a moose)

c : the part of the capital of a column between the abacus and neck molding

d : the flared end of a wind instrument

e : the open mouth of a nozzle (such as of the exhaust of a jet engine) The heating was so intense … that the gas went rushing out the tail of the engine at 30,000 feet per second, or twice the speed at which exhaust leaves the bell of a conventional engine. —Jeffrey Kluger

4a : a percussion instrument consisting of metal bars or tubes that when struck give out tones resembling bells —usually used in plural

b : glockenspiel