EnglishMain Dictionary
ring
Universal Words
noun, verb-see also RING
noun
jewellery
1 [C] a piece of jewellery that you wear on your finger, consisting of a circular band of gold, silver, etc., sometimes decorated with precious stones:
a gold ring * A large diamond glittered on her ring finger (= the finger next to the little finger, especially on the left hand).
seealsoENGAGEMENTRING, SIGNETRING, WEDDINGRING
circle
2 [C] an object in the shape of a circle with a large hole in the middle:
a key ring * curtain rings * onion rings
3 [C] a circular mark or shape:
She had dark rings around her eyes from lack of sleep. * The children sat on the floor in a ring.
for performance / competition
4 [C] an enclosed area in which animals or people perform or compete, with seats around the outside for the audience:
a boxing ring * a circus ring * The next competitor rode into the ring.
seealsoBULLRING
for cooking
5 [C] (especially BrE) a small flat plate on a cooker/stove that is heated by gas or electricity and is used for cooking on
SYNBURNER:
to turn off the gas ring
group of people
6 [C] a group of people who are working together, especially in secret or illegally:
a spy ring * a drugs ring
IDIOMS
run rings around / round sb (informal) to be much better at doing sth than sb else:
I used to beat my son at chess but now he runs rings around me.
moreatHAT
verb
(ringed, ringed) [VN]
surround
1 [oftenpassive] ~ sb/sth (with sth) to surround sb/sth:
Thousands of demonstrators ringed the building.
bird's leg
2 to put a metal ring around a bird's leg so that it can be easily identified in the future
draw circle
3 (especially BrE) to draw a circle around sth
SYNCIRCLE:
Ring the correct answer in pencil.
verb, noun-see also RING
verb (rang )
telephone
1 (BrE) (also call AmE, BrE) ~ sb/sth (up) to telephone sb/sth:
[VN] I'll ring you up later. * He rang up the police station. * When is the best time to ring New York? * [V] David rang up while you were out. * He said he was ringing from London. * I'm ringing about your advertisement in the paper. * Could you ring for a cab? * She rang to say she'd be late. -< PHONE
2 [V] (of a telephone) to make a sound because sb is trying to telephone you:
Will you answer the telephone if it rings?
bell
3 if you ring a bell or if a bell rings, it produces a sound:
[VN] Someone was ringing the doorbell. * [V] The church bells rang. * The doorbell rang loudly. * Just ring for the nurse (= attract the nurse's attention by ringing a bell) if you need her.
with sound
4 [V] ~ (with sth) (literary) to be full of a sound; to fill a place with sound:
The house rang with children's laughter. * Applause rang through the hall.
with quality
5 [V] to be full of a particular quality:
His words rang with pride.
of ears
6 [V] to be uncomfortable and be unable to hear clearly, usually because you have heard a loud noise, etc:
The music was so loud it made my ears ring.
IDIOMS
ring a bell (informal) to sound familiar to you, as though you have heard it before:
His name rings a bell but I can't think where we met.
ring the changes (with sth) (BrE) to make changes to sth in order to have greater variety:
Ring the changes with a new colour.
ring in your ears / head to make you feel that you can still hear sth:
His warning was still ringing in my ears.
ring off the hook (usually used in the progressive tenses) (AmE) (of a telephone) to ring many times:
The phone has been ringing off the hook with offers of help.
ring true / hollow / false to give the impression of being sincere/true or not sincere/true:
It may seem a strange story but it rings true to me.
moreatALARMn.
PHRASALVERBS
ring back
