chime

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈchīm 

: 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 theory

—Henry Maudsley

Synonyms

Verb

• agree
• assort
• blend
• chime in
• conform
• consort
• coordinate
• groove
• harmonize

Noun (2)

• jingle
• tinkle
• tintinnabulation

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

McDermott herself makes her piano chime at times in the piece, while the strings employ harmonics, minor seconds, pizzicato in music that moves between a sense of awe and feeling of danger. —Sheila Regan, Twin Cities, 5 Apr. 2024

Reger handed her a tissue as notification chimes sounded. —Cora Frazier, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024

Visitors might also hear the sound of bells and chimes inside the arcade center, scale a wall like Spider-Man at a rock climbing area and ride the Giant Dipper roller coaster, which can catch speeds of up to 48 miles per hour. —Carlos Rico, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2024

More:Spring season gives us true Michigan welcome The many bells, chimes and — of course — drums of all sizes that littered the stage were a combination of Oz Music's temporary donations and Reum's own collection of instruments. —Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 19 Mar. 2024

As part of the meditation, the group of about 30 attendees ingested a psychedelic mushroom mixture before lying on the floor while wearing eye masks and listening to singing bowls and chimes. —Erin Clack, Peoplemag, 22 Jan. 2024

With each app message, Eberhart, parked outside in a Ram truck, heard a noirish chime. —Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024

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

Verb

Here's how Lake's likely Democratic opponent in the Senate race, Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., also chimed into the conversation on social media. —Morgan Fischer, The Arizona Republic, 6 Mar. 2024

Other TikTok users chimed into the conversation sharing similar stories of them taking things back after breaking up with their significant other. —Jordan Greene, Peoplemag, 28 Feb. 2024

That was more than the 5.22 million passenger cars, buses and trucks China sold overseas last year, according to Chinese customs, a number that chimes with CPCA data. —Laura He, CNN, 2 Feb. 2024

His drill-down, rich in detail and foresight, highlighted the strategic pivot to online advertising revenue which emerged as a growth linchpin, while the industry concurrently navigates geography, demography, and the creation of content that chimes with both. —Callum McLennan, Variety, 31 Jan. 2024

This chimes with the outlook of Ervin Staub, a professor of psychology, emeritus, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and a Holocaust survivor. —Hazlitt, 6 Mar. 2024

Of the scenarios, Dimon is chiming with Deutsche Bank’s 1970s outlook. —Byeleanor Pringle, Fortune, 10 Jan. 2024

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

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

Phrases Containing chime

• chime in with
• chime in
• wind chime

Kids Definition

chime

1 of 2 noun

ˈchīm 

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