RINGING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ringing mean? 

• RINGING (noun)
  The noun RINGING has 3 senses:

1. the sound of a bell ringing

2. the giving of a ring as a token of engagement

3. having the character of a loud deep sound; the quality of being resonant

  Familiarity information: RINGING used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RINGING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The sound of a bell ringing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

ring; ringing; tintinnabulation

Context example:

the tintinnabulation that so voluminously swells from the ringing and the dinging of the bells

Hypernyms ("ringing" is a kind of...):

sound (the sudden occurrence of an audible event)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ringing"):

bell ringing (the sound of someone playing a set of bells)

Derivation:

ring (sound loudly and sonorously)

ring (make (bells) ring, often for the purposes of musical edification)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The giving of a ring as a token of engagement

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("ringing" is a kind of...):

betrothal; engagement; troth (a mutual promise to marry)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Having the character of a loud deep sound; the quality of being resonant

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

plangency; resonance; reverberance; ringing; sonority; sonorousness; vibrancy

Hypernyms ("ringing" is a kind of...):

quality; timber; timbre; tone ((music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound))

Derivation:

ring (ring or echo with sound)

 Context examples 

A question about whether an individual is or was bothered by ringing in their ears.

(Bothered by Ringing in Ears, NCI Thesaurus)

On the very first morning after her arrival she was up and ringing her bell at cock-crow.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Type 2 (NF2) causes hearing loss, ringing in the ears, and poor balance. Symptoms often start in the teen years.

(Neurofibromatosis, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

A device designed to make a ringing sound when struck.

(Bell Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

You can imagine the state of things here when they were roused from their beds by the doctor’s ringing and found me in this condition.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"I could die for you! I could die for you!"—Lizzie's words were ringing in his ears.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

After ringing several times, it was opened by the same Guardian of the Gates they had met before.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

But “my woman, my mate” kept ringing in my head for the rest of the day and for many days.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

I was thinking this over when there came ringing over the island the cry of a man at the point of death.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

“I am entirely at your service,” said Sherlock Holmes, ringing the bell.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)