chime

1 of 3

noun (1)

: the edge or rim of a cask or drum

chime

2 of 3

verb

chimed; chiming

intransitive verb

1
a
: to make a musical and especially a harmonious sound
b
: to make the sounds of a chime
2
: to be or act in accord

transitive verb

1
: to cause to sound musically by striking
2
: to produce by chiming
3
: to call or indicate by chiming
the clock chimed midnight
4
: to utter repetitively : din sense 2
chimer noun

chime

3 of 3

noun (2)

1
: an apparatus for chiming a bell or set of bells
2
a
: a musically tuned set of bells
b
: one of a set of objects giving a bell-like sound when struck
3
a
: the sound of a set of bells
usually used in plural
b
: a musical sound suggesting that of bells
4
: accord, harmony
such happy chime of fact and theoryHenry Maudsley

Examples of chime in a Sentence

Verb The music and the mood chimed well together. the restaurant's manor-house decor chimes perfectly with the chef's traditionalist take on haute cuisine
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The chime’s batteries are not included, but the batteries for the push button are. Jenna Clark, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Feb. 2024 Security cameras announce when a car is pulling up, and the doors have chimes. Wendy Grossman Kantor, Peoplemag, 7 Nov. 2023 Sitar sounds and chimes mixed with ethereal keys and swirling yellow and green lights opened the next composition, before another song bubbled up with crickets and birds snickering. Hillary Crosley Coker, Variety, 30 Jan. 2024 It is believed that eating one grape per clock chime will bring the person good luck in the new year, according to NPR. USA TODAY, 1 Jan. 2024 Notification chimes and ringtone volume have been split into separate volume sliders in Android 14. Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 29 Oct. 2023 At Sotheby’s, a tall — nine-foot-tall — Chippendale case clock made in Philadelphia around 1765 and with musical chimes sold for $803,000 in 2004. Brian T. Allen, National Review, 27 Jan. 2024 The large red-hand graphic stayed displayed, and the gap in chimes lengthened slightly to four-second intervals. Jim Resnick, Ars Technica, 20 Jan. 2024 Each ball has two unique patterns for little ones to investigate, as well as a chime inside, which rings when the ball is shaken or rolled. Maya Polton, Parents, 17 Jan. 2024
Verb
After the motorcade departed and traffic flowed once more on South Ocean Boulevard, Bethesda’s bells chimed. Kristina Webb, USA TODAY, 18 Jan. 2024 After all, his classic tailoring has shades of Armani and Saint Laurent, and there’s no one whose somber style chimes more with the melancholy, fatalistic mood of the moment than his. Radhika Seth, Vogue, 16 Dec. 2023 Unlike conventional minute repeaters, which chime the hours, quarter hours, and minutes, this one sounds the hours, 10-minute intervals, and minutes. Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 10 Dec. 2023 Top off your design with accents like a chiming mantel clock, found in many Parisian homes. Charlotte Observer, 1 Feb. 2024 These systems chime a warning and project a visual alert on the dashboard asking if the driver wants to take a break, often with the universal symbol for wakefulness—a coffee cup—appearing in the instrument cluster. Jim Resnick, Ars Technica, 20 Jan. 2024 Concerns about inflationary pressures are still chiming: geopolitical tensions such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war are pushing up oil prices, with shipping reroutes around the Red Sea further adding to wider inflationary pressures. Byeleanor Pringle, Fortune, 16 Jan. 2024 Their official Facebook page has over 19,000 followers and nearly 800 people chime into the Reddit thread. Sadie Bell, Peoplemag, 14 Dec. 2023 Despite rising on month, Germany’s Ifo index echoes the downbeat message of purchasing managers surveys on Tuesday, chiming again with the sense that the German economy is in a recession, according to Franziska Palmas, senior Europe economist at Capital Economics. Wsj Pro, WSJ, 25 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chime.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English chimbe, from Old English cimb-; akin to Middle Dutch kimme edge of a cask

Noun (2)

Middle English, cymbal, probably from Anglo-French *chimbe, cime, from Latin cymbalum cymbal

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of chime was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near chime

Cite this Entry

“Chime.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chime. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

chime

1 of 2 noun
1
: a set of bells tuned to play music
2
: the sound of a set of bells
usually used in plural

chime

2 of 2 verb
chimed; chiming
1
: to make the sounds of a chime
2
: to call or indicate by chiming

More from Merriam-Webster on chime

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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