rings up


2 [ring]
to cause a bell or bells to sound, especially as a summons: Just ring if you need anything.
to sound loudly; be loud or resonant; resound (often followed by out ): His brave words rang out.
to be filled with sound; reecho with sound, as a place.
(of the ears) to have the sensation of a continued humming sound.
Chiefly British. to telephone.
verb (used with object), rang, rung, ringing.
to cause (a bell or device with a bell) to ring; sound by striking: to ring a bell.
to produce (sound) by or as if by ringing: The bell rang a low tone.
to announce or proclaim, usher in or out, summon, signal, etc., by or as if by the sound of a bell: to ring someone's praises; The bell rang the hour.
to test (a coin or other metal object) by the sound it produces when struck against something.
Chiefly British. to telephone.
a ringing sound, as of a bell or bells: the ring of sleigh bells.
a sound or tone likened to the ringing of a bell: Rings of laughter issued from the school.
any loud sound; sound continued, repeated, or reverberated: the ring of iron upon stone.
a set or peal of bells.
a telephone call: Give me a ring tomorrow.
an act or instance of ringing a bell: No one answered my ring.
a characteristic sound, as of a coin.
the aspect or impression presented by a statement, an action, etc., taken as revealing a specified inherent quality: a ring of assurance in her voice; the ring of truth; a false ring.
Verb phrases
ring in,
to indicate one's arrival at work by punching in on a time clock.
Informal. to introduce artfully or fraudulently: to ring in an imposter.
ring off,
to terminate a telephone conversation.
British Slang. to stop talking.
British Slang. to go away.
ring out,
to indicate one's departure from work by punching out on a time clock.
to make a sound or noise; resound: The church bells rang out.
ring up,
to register (the amount of a sale) on a cash register.
to accomplish or record: to ring up a series of successes.
Chiefly British. to telephone.
ring a bell. bell1 ( def 15 ).
ring down the curtain,
to direct that the curtain of a theater be lowered or closed.
to lower or close the curtain in front of a stage.
ring down the curtain on, to bring to an end: The accident rang down the curtain on his law career.
ring the/someone's bell. bell1 ( def 16 ).
ring the changes. change ( def 38 ).
ring up the curtain,
to direct that the curtain of a theater be raised or opened.
to raise or open the curtain in front of a stage.
ring up the curtain on, to begin; inaugurate; initiate: The $100-a-plate dinner rang up the curtain on the hospital's fund-raising drive.

before 900; Middle English ringen, Old English hringan; cognate with Old Norse hringja, German ringen

ringingly, adverb
ringingness, noun

20. sound, tone, quality.
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World English Dictionary
ring1 (rɪŋ)
1.  a circular band usually of a precious metal, esp gold, often set with gems and worn upon the finger as an adornment or as a token of engagement or marriage
2.  any object or mark that is circular in shape
3.  a circular path or course: to run around in a ring
4.  a group of people or things standing or arranged so as to form a circle: a ring of spectators
5.  an enclosed space, usually circular in shape, where circus acts are performed
6.  a square apron or raised platform, marked off by ropes, in which contestants box or wrestle
7.  the ring the sport of boxing
8.  the field of competition or rivalry
9.  throw one's hat in the ring to announce one's intention to be a candidate or contestant
10.  a group of people usually operating illegally and covertly: a drug ring; a paedophile ring
11.  (esp at country fairs) an enclosure, often circular, where horses, cattle, and other livestock are paraded and auctioned
12.  an area reserved for betting at a racecourse
13.  a circular strip of bark cut from a tree or branch, esp in order to kill it
14.  a single turn in a spiral
15.  geometry the area of space lying between two concentric circles
16.  maths a set that is subject to two binary operations, addition and multiplication, such that the set is an Abelian group under addition and is closed under multiplication, this latter operation being associative
17.  botany short for annual ring
18.  chem Also called: closed chain a closed loop of atoms in a molecule
19.  astronomy See also Saturn any of the thin circular bands of small bodies orbiting a giant planet, esp Saturn
20.  informal run rings around to be greatly superior to; outclass completely
vb , rings, ringing, ringed
21.  to surround with or as if with or form a ring; encircle
22.  to mark (a bird) with a ring or clip for subsequent identification
23.  to fit a ring in the nose of (a bull, pig, etc) so that it can be led easily
24.  Also: ringbark
 a.  to cut away a circular strip of bark from (a tree or branch) in order to kill it
 b.  to cut a narrow or partial ring from (the trunk of a tree) in order to check or prevent vigorous growth
25.  (Austral), (NZ) to be the fastest shearer in a shearing shed (esp in the phrase ring the shed)
[Old English hring; related to Old Norse hringr]

ring2 (rɪŋ)
vb (foll by for) , rings, ringing, rang, rung
1.  to emit or cause to emit a sonorous or resonant sound, characteristic of certain metals when struck
2.  to cause (a bell) to emit a ringing sound by striking it once or repeatedly or (of a bell) to emit such a sound
3.  a.  (tr) Compare chime to cause (a large bell, esp a church bell) to emit a ringing sound by pulling on a rope that is attached to a wheel on which the bell swings back and forth, being sounded by a clapper inside it
 b.  (intr) (of a bell) to sound by being swung in this way
4.  (intr) (of a building, place, etc) to be filled with sound; echo: the church rang with singing
5.  to call by means of a bell, buzzer, etc: to ring for the butler
6.  chiefly (Brit) Also: ring up to call (a person) by telephone
7.  (tr) to strike or tap (a coin) in order to assess its genuineness by the sound produced
8.  (intr) (of the ears) to have or give the sensation of humming or ringing
9.  (intr) electronics (of an electric circuit) to produce a damped oscillatory wave after the application of a sharp input transition
10.  slang to change the identity of (a stolen vehicle) by using the licence plate, serial number, etc, of another, usually disused, vehicle
11.  ring a bell to sound familiar; remind one of something, esp indistinctly
12.  ring down the curtain
 a.  to lower the curtain at the end of a theatrical performance
 b.  (foll by on) to put an end (to)
13.  ring false to give the impression of being false
14.  ring the bell
 a.  to do, say, or be the right thing
 b.  to reach the pinnacle of success or happiness
16.  ring true to give the impression of being true: that story doesn't ring true
17.  the act of or a sound made by ringing
18.  a sound produced by or suggestive of a bell
19.  any resonant or metallic sound, esp one sustained or re-echoed: the ring of trumpets
20.  informal chiefly (Brit) a telephone call: he gave her a ring last night
21.  See peal the complete set of bells in a tower or belfry: a ring of eight bells
22.  an inherent quality or characteristic: his explanation has the ring of sincerity
23.  electronics the damped oscillatory wave produced by a circuit that rings
usage  Rang and sang are the correct forms of the past tenses of ring and sing, although rung and sung are still heard informally and dialectally: he rung (rang) the bell

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Word Origin & History

O.E. hring "circular band," from P.Gmc. *khrengaz (cf. O.N. hringr, O.Fris. hring, Ger. Ring), lit. "something curved," from PIE base *(s)ker- "to turn, bend" (cf. L. curvus "bent, curved," crispus "curly;" O.C.S. kragu "circle," and perhaps Gk. kirkos "ring," koronos "curved"). Meaning "place for prize
fight and wrestling bouts" (early 14c.) is from the space in a circle of bystanders in which such contests were once held (ringside is attested from 1866). Meaning "combination of interested persons" is from 1829. The verb meaning "to make a circle around" is O.E. ymbhringan. The circus ringmaster is recorded from 1873. Tree ring is from 1670s; fairy ring is from 1620s. Nursery rhyme ring a ring a rosie, is attested in an American form (with a different ending) from c.1790. "The belief that the rhyme originated with the Great Plague is now almost universal, but has no evidence to support it and is almost certainly nonsense" ["Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore"]. This connection only dates to the 1960s.

"sound a bell," O.E. hringan, from P.Gmc. *khrenganan (cf. O.N. hringja, Swed. ringa, M.Du. ringen), probably of imitative origin. To give (someone) a ring "call on the telephone" was in use by 1910. To ring down a theatrical curtain is from 1772, from the custom of signaling for it by ringing a bell.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

ring (rĭng)

  1. A circular object, form, or arrangement with a vacant circular center.

  2. The area between two concentric circles; annulus.

  3. A group of atoms linked by bonds that may be represented graphically in circular or triangular form.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
ring   (rĭng)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. A set of elements subject to the operations of addition and multiplication, in which the set is an abelian group under addition and associative under multiplication and in which the two operations are related by distributive laws.

  2. A group of atoms linked by bonds that may be represented graphically in circular or triangular form. Benzene, for example, contains a ring of six carbon atoms. All cyclic compounds contain one or more rings. See annulus.

  3. See growth ring.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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Bible Dictionary

Ring definition


Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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