Nearby Words
noun
1.
a hollow instrument of cast metal, typically cup-shaped with a flaring mouth, suspended from the vertex and rung by the strokes of a clapper, hammer, or the like.
2.
the stroke or sound of such an instrument: We rose at the bell.
3.
anything in the form of a bell.
4.
the large end of a funnel, or the end of a pipe, tube, or any musical wind instrument, when its edge is turned out and enlarged.
5.
EXPANDArchitecture. the underlying part of a foliated capital.
6.
Nautical.
a.
any of the half-hour units of nautical time rung on the bell of a ship.
b.
each individual ring of the bell, counted with others to reckon the time: It is now four bells.
c.
a signal on the telegraph of a large power vessel, made between the navigating officers and the engineer.
7.
Zoology. umbrella (def. 2).
8.
Botany. the bell-shaped corolla of a flower.
9.
COLLAPSEMetallurgy. a conical lid that seals the top of a blast furnace and lowers to admit a charge.
verb (used with object)
10.
to cause to swell or expand like a bell (often followed by out): Belling out the tubes will permit a freer passage of air.
11.
to put a bell on.
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Saved by the bell
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
verb (used without object)
Idioms12.
to take or have the form of a bell.
13.
Botany. to produce bells; be in bell (said of hops when the seed vessels are forming).
14.
bell the cat. cat1 (def. 15).
15.
ring a bell, to evoke a memory, especially a vague or partial recollection; remind one of something: His name rings a bell but I can't remember him.
16.
ring the bell, to provide what is desired; be satisfactory or successful: This new book rings the bell with teenagers.
17.
saved by the bell,
a.
(of a boxer) saved from a knockout by the ringing of a gong signaling the end of a round.
b.
(of any person) spared from anticipated trouble by some extraneous event.
18.
with bells on, Informal. eagerly; ready to enjoy oneself: Just say when, and we'll be there with bells on.
Related forms
bell-less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To saved by the bell
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
bell
O.E. belle, common North Sea Gmc. (cf. M.Du. belle, M.L.G. belle) but not found elsewhere in Gmc. (except as a borrowing), from PIE base *bhel- "to sound, roar." Statistical bell curve was coined 1870s in French. Bell, book, and candle is a reference to a form of excommunication. To ring a bell "awaken
EXPANDa memory," 1934, is perhaps a reference to Pavlovian experiments.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
Bell (běl), Sir Charles. 1774-1842.
British anatomist and surgeon who published detailed anatomies of the nervous system and the brain. He was the first to distinguish between sensory and motor nerves. Bell's Law and Bell's palsy are named for him.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
Bell  (běl) Pronunciation Key
Scottish-born American scientist and inventor whose lifelong interest in the education of deaf people led him to conceive the idea of transmitting speech by electric waves. In 1876 his experiments with a telegraph resulted in his invention of the telephone. He later produced the first successful sound recorder, an early hearing aid, and many other devices. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
saved by the bell definition
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Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
saved by the bell
Rescued from a difficulty at the last moment, as in I couldn't put off explaining his absence any longer, but then Bill arrived and I was saved by the bell. This expression alludes to the bell rung at the end of a boxing round, which, if it rings before a knocked-down boxer has been counted out, lets him get up and continue fighting in the next round. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1900s.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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