ringer

1 of 2

noun (1)

ring·​er ˈriŋ-ər 

1

: one that sounds especially by ringing

2

a(1)

: one that enters a competition under false representations

(2)

: imposter, fake

b

: one that strongly resembles another

—often used with dead

he's a dead ringer for the senator

ringer

2 of 2

noun (2)

: one that encircles or puts a ring around (such as a quoit or horseshoe that lodges so as to surround the peg)

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• charlatan
• fake
• faker
• fakir
• fraud
• hoaxer
• humbug
• impostor
• imposter
• mountebank
• phony
• phoney
• pretender
• quack
• quacksalver
• sham

Examples of ringer in a Sentence

Noun (1)

no one was more surprised than the defendant when his lawyer turned out to be a ringer

he's a dead ringer for his grandfather

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Her kindhearted and empathetic photographer Jo Reynolds was continually put through the ringer across her four seasons on the show, from 1992 to 1996. —Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 15 Apr. 2025

Man City has been through the ringer recently and is down their star player, Khadija Shaw. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Apr. 2025

But lookout for this ringer: East Bay resident Amy Schneider, whose 40-game win streak on Jeopardy is second all-time to Ken Jennings (74 wins) helped net her $1.6 million in prizes, is on the guest list. —Jason Mastrodonato, The Mercury News, 14 Jan. 2025

Retail traders snapped up Tesla shares in recent days as the stock went through the ringer, according to JPMorgan. —Alex Harring, CNBC, 13 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1834, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing ringer

• dead ringer
• ringer tee
• ringer T-shirt

Rhymes for ringer

• bringer
• clinger
• dinger
• inger
• slinger
• springer
• stinger
• stringer
• winger
• wringer

Kids Definition

ringer

1 of 2 noun

ring·​er ˈriŋ-ər 

1

: one that sounds especially by ringing

2

a

: one that enters a competition with a false identity

b

: one that strongly resembles another

—often used with dead

a dead ringer for the senator

ringer

2 of 2 noun

: a quoit or horseshoe that falls right over a peg