ring
[verb]
Synonyms:
- chime, clang, peal, reverberate, sound, toll
- phone, buzz (informal), call, telephone
[noun]
Synonyms:
- chime, knell, peal
- call, buzz (informal), phone call
————————
[noun]
Synonyms:
- circle, band, circuit, halo, hoop, loop, round
- arena, circus, enclosure, rink
- gang, association, band, cartel, circle, group, mob, syndicate
[verb]
Synonyms:
- encircle, enclose, gird, girdle, surround

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Related Words: resound, reverberate, sound

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English Thesaurus: phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice mail, text message, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

Ring, The
a set of four operas by Richard Wagner, known also as The Ring of the Nibelung or The Ring Cycle. They are based on stories from German mythology, and are known for being very long.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

I. ring¹ S1 W2 /rɪŋ/ noun [countable]
[Sense 1-2, 5, 8-11: Language: Old English; Origin: hring]
[Sense 3-4, 6-7: Date: 1500-1600; Origin: ⇒ ring¹]

1. JEWELLERY a piece of jewellery that you wear on your finger:
a diamond ring
a plain silver ring ⇒ engagement ring at engagement(1), ⇒ signet ring, wedding ring

2. CIRCLE
a) an object in the shape of a circle:
a rubber ring for children to go swimming with
onion rings
a key ring ⇒ napkin ring
b) a circular line or mark
ring around
She left a dirty ring around the bath.
ring round British English:
a ring round the moon
c) a group of people or things arranged in a circle
ring of
A ring of armed troops surrounded the building.
The city was overlooked by a ring of high-rise buildings.

3. give somebody a ring British English informal to make a telephone call to someone:
I’ll give you a ring later in the week.

4. BELLS the sound made by a bell or the act of making this sound:
a ring at the doorbell

5. CRIMINALS a group of people who illegeally control a business or criminal activity:
Are you aware that a drugs ring is being operated in the club?
Secret files reveal an Oxford spy ring.

6. have the/a ring of something if a statement or argument has a ring of truth, confidence etc, it seems as if it has this quality:
His explanation has the ring of truth.

7. have a familiar ring if something has a familiar ring, you feel that you have heard it before:
His voice had a strangely familiar ring.

8. run rings around somebody informal to be able to do something much better than someone else can:
I’m sure you can run rings round him.

9. COOKING British English one of the circular areas on top of a cooker that is heated by gas or electricity ⇒ hob Synonym : burner American English:
a gas ring

10. SPORT
a) a small square area surrounded by ropes, where people box or wrestle ⇒ ringside
b) the ring the sport of boxing:
He retired from the ring at 34.

11. ENTERTAINMENT a large circular area surrounded by seats at a circus

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. ring² S1 W2 /rɪŋ/ verb (past tense rang /ræŋ/, past participle rung /rʌŋ/)

1. BELL
a) [intransitive and transitive] to make a bell make a sound, especially to call someone’s attention to you or to call someone to help you:
I rang the doorbell but no one came.
ring for
The sign said, ‘Ring for service’.
Instead of ringing for the maid, she made the tea herself.
b) [intransitive] if a bell rings, it makes a noise:
The bell rang for the end of break.

2. TELEPHONE
a) [intransitive and transitive] British English to make a telephone call to someone Synonym : call, phone:
I was going to ring you but I don’t have your number.
ring for
Sally rang for a taxi.
b) [intransitive] if a telephone rings, it makes a sound to show that someone is telephoning you:
The phone hasn’t stopped ringing all day.

3. SOUNDS [intransitive]
a) if your ears ring, they make a continuous sound that only you can hear, after you have been somewhere very noisy or heard a loud sound:
The explosion made our ears ring.
b) literary if a place rings with a sound, it is full of that sound
ring with
The whole room rang with their laughter.

4. ring a bell informal if something rings a bell, it reminds you of something, but you cannot remember exactly what it is:
Her name rings a bell but I can’t remember her face.

5. not ring true if something does not ring true, you do not believe it, even though you are not sure why:
It was a possible explanation, but it didn’t quite ring true.

6. ring the changes British English to make changes to something, not because it needs changing but just in order to make it more interesting, more attractive etc:
Choose a variety of foods and ring the changes with meals.

7. ring hollow if something that someone says rings hollow, you do not feel that it is true or sincere:
Assurances that things have changed ring hollow in many ears.

8. ring in your ears if a sound or remark rings in your ears, you continue to remember it very clearly, exactly as it sounded, after it has finished:
He left Washington with the president’s praises ringing in his ears.
ring (somebody) back phrasal verb British English
to telephone someone again, or to telephone someone because you were not available when they telephoned you Synonym : call (somebody) back:
I’ll ring back as soon as I find out anything.
John rang, and he wants you to ring him back.
ring in phrasal verb

1. British English to telephone the place where you work:
Jane’s rung in to say she’ll be late.
He rang in sick (=telephoned to say he was ill) every morning for a week.

2. ring in the New Year to celebrate the beginning of the New Year
ring off phrasal verb British English
to end a telephone call ⇒ hang up:
He rang off without giving his name.
ring out phrasal verb

1. a voice, bell etc that rings out is loud and clear:
The sound of a shot rang out.

2. ring out the Old Year to celebrate the end of the year
ring round (somebody) phrasal verb British English
to make telephone calls to a group of people, in order to organize something, find out information etc:
I’ll ring round to see whether anyone’s interested in coming with us.
She rang round all the agencies.
ring up phrasal verb

1. British English to telephone someone Synonym : call (somebody) up
ring somebody ↔ up
I’ll ring the manager up tomorrow.
I rang up and made an appointment.

2. ring something ↔ up to press buttons on a cash register to record how much money is being put inside:
The cashier rang up £300 by mistake.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

III. ring³ verb (past tense and past participle ringed) [transitive]

1. to surround something:
Thousands of people ringed the court building to demand the release of Mr Cox.
be ringed with something
Her eyes were ringed with stiff black lashes.

2. British English to draw a circular mark around something Synonym : circle:
Ring the mistakes in red.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

ring
noun
I. piece of jewellery
ADJ. engagement, eternity, signet, wedding | diamond, gold, etc. She wore a diamond engagement ring.
VERB + RING have on, wear He had a signet ring on his little finger.
put on | take off
RING + NOUN finger (= the finger next to the little finger, especially on the left hand)

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

ring
II. circle
ADJ. inner | outer | concentric The street plan of the city has evolved as a series of concentric rings.
black, dark He had dark rings around his eyes.
smoke, tree to blow smoke rings
VERB + RING form, stand in The children formed a ring around their teacher.
PREP. in a/the ~ The children sat on the floor in a ring.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

ring
III. where a performance, match, etc. takes place
ADJ. boxing, bull, circus, show, wrestling
PREP. in/into the ~ He was back in the ring (= the boxing ring) only a month after the injury.
PHRASES retire from the ring (= stop boxing)

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

ring
IV. people involved in sth secret/illegal
ADJ. drugs, smuggling, spy
VERB + RING be involved in | break up Customs officials have broken up a major drugs ring.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

ring
V. telephone call
VERB + RING give sb I'll give you a ring once I get home.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

ring

wear a ring
He wore a gold ring on his right hand.
have a ring on
They saw I didn’t have a wedding ring on.
a gold/silver ring
She took off her gold ring.
a diamond/sapphire etc ring
On her right hand was a huge diamond ring.
a heavy ring
Her fingers were clustered with heavy rings.
a plain ring
She wore a plain gold ring.
a wedding ring
He gave her a diamond wedding ring on their wedding day.
an engagement ring
I noticed that she had an engagement ring on her finger.
an eternity ring (=a ring given as a sign of lasting love, especially one with stones all round it)
a signet ring (=a ring that has a letter or symbol cut into a flat surface)

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

ring
verb
BAD: I rang to the college to explain my absence.
GOOD: I rang the college to explain my absence.

Usage Note:
See PHONE 1 (phone)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

phone (also telephone formal):
My wife was talking to someone on the phone.
What's your home phone number?
The nearest telephone was in the school secretary's office.
mobile phone British English (also mobile informal) a telephone that you can carry with you, that works by using a network of radio stations to pass on signals:
Even children as young as eight have mobile phones.
She always has her mobile switched off.
cell phone American English (also cell informal) a mobile phone:
You can reach me on my cell phone.
voice mail a system that records messages so that you can listen to them on your phone:
Let me check my voice mail.
text message (also text, SMS) a message from someone that you can read on your mobile phone:
I got a text from Paul.
landline a telephone that uses wires – used when comparing this with a mobile phone:
Calls cost 25p from a landline, more from a mobile phone.
receiver the part of a telephone that you pick up to listen and talk:
She put down the receiver and started crying.
call to phone someone. Call is used in both British and American English:
One of the neighbors called the police.
Call me later.
ring British English spoken to phone someone. Ring is more informal than phone or call:
I can ring her at the office tomorrow.
give somebody a call (also give somebody a ring) spoken to phone someone:
If you ever come to Seattle, give me a call.
I’ll give the hospital a ring and see how he is.
telephone formal to phone someone:
Angry listeners telephoned the BBC to complain.
Skype /skaɪp/ trademark to make a telephone call using special software that allows you to make calls over the Internet:
I Skyped her last night and we spoke for hours.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

phone to speak to someone by telephone. Phone is more common in British English than American English:
I’ll phone you tomorrow.
call to phone someone. Call is used in both British and American English:
One of the neighbors called the police.
Call me later.
ring British English spoken to phone someone. Ring is more informal than phone or call:
I can ring her at the office tomorrow.
give somebody a call (also give somebody a ring) spoken to phone someone:
If you ever come to Seattle, give me a call.
I’ll give the hospital a ring and see how he is.
telephone formal to phone someone:
Angry listeners telephoned the BBC to complain.
Skype /skaɪp/ trademark to make a telephone call using special software that allows you to make calls over the Internet:
I Skyped her last night and we spoke for hours.
make a call
He made a few calls and then went out.
get/have a call (also receive a call formal)
At 11 in the evening we got a call from the police.
there is/was a call
There was a phone call for you.
answer a call
We’re sorry that we cannot answer your call right now.
take a call (=answer one)
Monica took the call upstairs.
return sb’s call (=call someone after they have tried to call you)
I left a message for her but she didn’t return my call.
expect a call
She’s expecting a phone call from Matt.
transfer a call (=connect one to another person’s phone)
The call was transferred to his secretary.
put through a call (=transfer or make one)
She asked the switchboard to put the call through.
a phone/telephone call
I had a phone call from Barbara in Australia.
a quick call
This is just a quick call to make sure you’re OK.
a local call
Local calls are free at weekends.
a long-distance call
I’d like to make a long-distance call.
an international call
a collect call American English (=one paid for by the person who receives it)
Can I make a collect call to Florida, please?
incoming/outgoing calls (=coming into or going out of a place)
You have to dial 9 first to make an outgoing call.
an emergency call (=to the police, fire service, or ambulance service)
The police normally respond immediately to an emergency call.
a hoax call (=one intended to trick someone)
They received a hoax call warning of a bomb in the building.
an anonymous call (=in which the caller does not give their name)
The £10,000 demand was made in an anonymous call to his home.
a crank call (=made by someone you do not know, as a joke or to annoy you)
The heavy breathing sounded like a crank call.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

ring
̈ɪrɪŋ
See: give a ring , run circles around or run rings around , three-ring circus , throw one's hat in the ring

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲