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Entry 25 senses · 6 variants Webster, 1913

Ring

/(rĭng)/ · IPA /ɹɪŋ/
01 v. t. To cause to sound, especially by striking, as a metallic body; as, to ring a bell.
imp. Rang; p. p. Rung; p. pr. & vb. n. Ringing
  1. 1.
    To cause to sound, especially by striking, as a metallic body; as, to ring a bell.
  2. 2.
    To make (a sound), as by ringing a bell; to sound.
    “The shard-borne beetle, with his drowsy hums, Hath rung night's yawning peal.” — Shak.
  3. 3.
    To repeat often, loudly, or earnestly.
Phrases & compounds
To ring a peal — to ring a set of changes on a chime of bells.
To ring the changes upon — See under Change.
To ring in — to usher, attend on, or celebrate, by the ringing of bells; as, to ring out the old year and ring in the new.
To ring the bells backward — to sound the chimes, reversing the common order; -- formerly done as a signal of alarm or danger.
02 v. i. To sound, as a bell or other sonorous body, particularly a metallic one.
  1. 1.
    To sound, as a bell or other sonorous body, particularly a metallic one.
    “Now ringen trompes loud and clarion.” — Chaucer.
    “Why ring not out the bells?” — Shak.
  2. 2.
    To practice making music with bells.
  3. 3.
    To sound loud; to resound; to be filled with a ringing or reverberating sound.
    “With sweeter notes each rising temple rung.” — Pope.
    “The hall with harp and carol rang.” — Tennyson.
    “My ears still ring with noise.” — Dryden.
  4. 4.
    To continue to sound or vibrate; to resound.
    “The assertion is still ringing in our ears.” — Burke.
  5. 5.
    To be filled with report or talk; as, the whole town rings with his fame.
03 n. A sound; especially, the sound of vibrating metals; as, the ring of a bell.
  1. 1.
    A sound; especially, the sound of vibrating metals; as, the ring of a bell.
  2. 2.
    Any loud sound; the sound of numerous voices; a sound continued, repeated, or reverberated.
    “The ring of acclamations fresh in his ears.” — Bacon.
  3. 3.
    A chime, or set of bells harmonically tuned.
    “As great and tunable a ring of bells as any in the world.” — Fuller.
04 n. A circle, or a circular line, or anything in the form of a circular line or hoop.
  1. 1.
    A circle, or a circular line, or anything in the form of a circular line or hoop.
  2. 2.
    Specifically, a circular ornament of gold or other precious material worn on the finger, or attached to the ear, the nose, or some other part of the person; as, a wedding ring.
    “Upon his thumb he had of gold a ring.” — Chaucer.
    “The dearest ring in Venice will I give you.” — Shak.
  3. 3.
    A circular area in which races are or run or other sports are performed; an arena.
    “Place me, O, place me in the dusty ring, Where youthful charioteers contend for glory.” — E. Smith.
  4. 4.
    An inclosed space in which pugilists fight; hence, figuratively, prize fighting.
  5. 5.
    A circular group of persons.
    “And hears the Muses in a ring Aye round about Jove's alter sing.” — Milton.
  6. 6.
    The plane figure included between the circumferences of two concentric circles.(Geom.)
  7. 7.
    An instrument, formerly used for taking the sun's altitude, consisting of a brass ring suspended by a swivel, with a hole at one side through which a solar ray entering indicated the altitude on the graduated inner surface opposite.(Astron. & Navigation)
  8. 8.
    An elastic band partly or wholly encircling the spore cases of ferns. See Illust. of Sporangium.(Bot.) See: Sporangium
  9. 9.
    A clique; an exclusive combination of persons for a selfish purpose, as to control the market, distribute offices, obtain contracts, etc.
    “The ruling ring at Constantinople.” — E. A. Freeman.
  10. 10.
    An algebraic structure which consists of a set with two binary operations that generalize the arithmetic operations of addition and multiplication.(Alg.)
Phrases & compounds
Ring armor — armor composed of rings of metal. See Ring mail, below, and Chain mail, under Chain.
Ring blackbird — the ring ousel.
Ring canal — the circular water tube which surrounds the esophagus of echinoderms.
Ring dotterel — See Dotterel, and Illust. of Pressiroster.
Ring dropper — a sharper who pretends to have found a ring (dropped by himself), and tries to induce another to buy it as valuable, it being worthless.
Ring fence — See under Fence.
Ring finger — the third finger of the left hand, or the next the little finger, on which the ring is placed in marriage.
Ring formula — a graphic formula in the shape of a closed ring, as in the case of benzene, pyridine, etc. See Illust. under Benzene.
Ring mail — a kind of mail made of small steel rings sewed upon a garment of leather or of cloth.
Ring micrometer — See Circular micrometer, under Micrometer.
Saturn's rings — See Saturn.
Ring ousel — See Ousel.
Ring parrot — any one of several species of Old World parrakeets having a red ring around the neck, especially Palaeornis torquatus, common in India, and Palaeornis Alexandri of Java.
Ring plover — The ringed dotterel
Ring snake — a small harmless American snake (Diadophis punctatus) having a white ring around the neck. The back is ash-colored, or sage green, the belly of an orange red.
Ring stopper — See under Stopper.
Ring thrush — the ring ousel.
The prize ring — the ring in which prize fighters contend; prize fighters, collectively.
The ring — The body of sporting men who bet on horse races
05 v. t. To surround with a ring, or as with a ring; to encircle.
imp. & p. p. Ringed; p. pr. & vb. n. Ringing
  1. 1.
    To surround with a ring, or as with a ring; to encircle.
  2. 2.
    To make a ring around by cutting away the bark; to girdle; as, to ring branches or roots.(Hort.)
  3. 3.
    To fit with a ring or with rings, as the fingers, or a swine's snout.
06 v. i. To rise in the air spirally.
  1. 1.
    To rise in the air spirally.(Falconry)