Definition of bell
1 a
:a hollow metallic device that gives off a reverberating sound when struck
b
:doorbell
2 a
: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
4 a
:a percussion instrument consisting of metal bars or tubes that when struck give out tones resembling bells
—usually used in plural
b
:glockenspiel
—
get/have one's bell rung
US & Canada, informal, sports
:to be hit on the head :to suffer a concussion
- He had his bell rung on a blitz, and a short time later he was taken to Divine Providence Hospital.
- —Ralph Wiley
—
give (someone) a bell
British, informal
:to make a telephone call to
- Maybe Cowell can give him a bell towards the end of his marathon broadcast—that would certainly wake him up.
- —Mark Jefferies
