RUNG

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does rung mean? 

• RUNG (noun)
  The noun RUNG has 2 senses:

1. a crosspiece between the legs of a chair

2. one of the crosspieces that form the steps of a ladder

  Familiarity information: RUNG used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RUNG (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A crosspiece between the legs of a chair

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

round; rung; stave

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

crosspiece (a transverse brace)

Holonyms ("rung" is a part of...):

folding chair (a chair that can be folded flat for storage)

feeding chair; highchair (a chair for feeding a very young child; has four long legs and a footrest and a detachable tray)

rocker; rocking chair (a chair mounted on rockers)

side chair; straight chair (a straight-backed chair without arms)

Sense 2

Meaning:

One of the crosspieces that form the steps of a ladder

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

rundle; rung; spoke

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

crosspiece (a transverse brace)

Holonyms ("rung" is a part of...):

ladder (steps consisting of two parallel members connected by rungs; for climbing up or down)

 Context examples 

We had hardly settled down in it, and Mrs. Warren left us, when a distant tinkle announced that our mysterious neighbour had rung.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

An answering call rung forth upon their left, and hard upon it two others from behind them.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You don’t take a ladder at one jump, but you do it rung by rung.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And the bell was rung, and the carriages spoken for.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

These chemical bonds act like rungs in a ladder and help hold the two strands of DNA together.

(Base pair, NCI Dictionary)

This grove that was now so peaceful must then have rung with cries, I thought; and even with the thought I could believe I heard it ringing still.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Twelve o’clock had scarce rung out over London, ere the knocker sounded very gently on the door.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

“When this was pulled down, the bell in the kitchen must have rung loudly,” he remarked.

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

The advertisement directed us to apply to Mrs. Crupp on the premises, and we rung the area bell, which we supposed to communicate with Mrs. Crupp.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

With these words Mr. Brocklehurst put into my hand a thin pamphlet sewn in a cover, and having rung for his carriage, he departed.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)