bells and whistles

plural noun

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of bells and whistles

: items or features that are useful or decorative but not essential : frills

Recent Examples of bells and whistles from the Web

The company maintains 16 vehicles, including old-school VW buses, Eurovans with pop-up roofs, and slick new Mercedes vans with all the bells and whistles.

— kari bodnarchuk, BostonGlobe.com, "Here, there, and everywhere," 11 Apr. 2018
One of the versions of the new car will include the first-ever Turbo 1LE, in addition to some new bells and whistles that Chevy is making standard.

— craig hlavaty, Houston Chronicle, "Chevrolet's 2019 Camaro includes all-new bells and whistles," 9 Apr. 2018
Even with all the bells and whistles restaurants are using to lure customers into getting the pancakes, those things probably still have one of the highest margins in the biz.

— lindsay robertson, Marie Claire, "6 Reasons Why You Should Always Order Pancakes for the Table," 5 Apr. 2018
For the million or so Old Reader users, that means not many bells and whistles.

— brian barrett, WIRED, "It's Time for an RSS Revival," 30 Mar. 2018
This could work in Huami's favor, however; some people don't want to pay for the extra bells and whistles that come standard on a smartwatch, like fancy graphics, NFC, music storage, and standalone apps.

— valentina palladino, Ars Technica, "Amazfit Bip review: One peculiar week with a $99 smartwatch," 21 Mar. 2018
Royal Caribbean is putting an arsenal of pricey bells and whistles on its private Bahamas island CocoCay.

— richard tribou, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Royal Caribbean to give private Bahamas island massive makeover," 16 Mar. 2018
What Stands Out Size: Bigger than competitors Power: Adequate but not great Safety: Lots of bells and whistles.

— USA TODAY, "Review: Subaru's new Crosstrek becomes the small SUV to beat," 16 Mar. 2018
Buy now for $99.95 on Amazon.com —S.M. As completely wireless earbuds become the norm for on-the-go listening, makers are rushing to get their own versions out, and jamming them with bells and whistles, which in turn drive up the price.

— cnt editors, Condé Nast Traveler, "The Best Tech Gifts for Travelers," 9 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bells and whistles.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.