ringer

1
[ ring-er ]
See synonyms for ringer on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person or thing that encircles, rings, etc.

  2. a quoit or horseshoe so thrown as to encircle the peg.

  1. the throw itself.

  2. Also ringers .Also called ring taw .Marbles. a game in which players place marbles in a cross marked in the center of a circle, the object being to knock as many marbles as possible outside the circle by using another marble shooter.

  3. Australian. a highly skilled sheep shearer.

Origin of ringer

1
First recorded in 1815–25; ring1 + -er1

Words Nearby ringer

Other definitions for ringer (2 of 2)

ringer2
[ ring-er ]

noun
  1. a person or thing that rings or makes a ringing noise: a ringer of bells;a bell that is a loud ringer.

  1. Slang.

    • a racehorse, athlete, or the like entered in a competition under false representation as to identity or ability.

    • a student paid by another to take an exam.

    • any person or thing that is fraudulent; fake or impostor.

    • a substitute or addition, as a professional musician hired to strengthen a school orchestra: We hired three ringers for the commencement concert.

Origin of ringer

2
First recorded in 1375–1425; ring2 + -er1

Other words for ringer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ringer in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ringer

ringer

/ (ˈrɪŋə) /


noun
  1. a person or thing that rings a bell

  2. Also called: dead ringer slang a person or thing that is almost identical to another

  1. slang a stolen vehicle the identity of which has been changed by the use of the licence plate, serial number, etc, of another, usually disused, vehicle

  2. US a contestant, esp a horse, entered in a competition under false representations of identity, record, or ability

  3. Australian and NZ the fastest shearer in a shed

  4. Australian informal the fastest or best at anything

  5. a quoit thrown so as to encircle a peg

  6. such a throw

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012