- 1 (British English) (also call North American English, British English) [transitive, intransitive] to telephone somebody/something ring somebody/something up I'll ring you up later. He rang up the police station. ring somebody/something When is the best time to ring New York? ring (up) David rang up while you were out. He said he was ringing from London. I'm ringing about your advertisement in the paper. She rang to say she'd be late. ring for something Could you ring for a cab? British/Americanphone / call / ringVerbs In British English, to phone, to ring and to call are the usual ways of saying to telephone. In North American English the most common word is call, but phone is also used. Speakers of North American English do not say ring. Telephone is very formal and is used mainly in British English.Nouns You can use call or phone call (more formal) in both British English and North American English:Were there any phone calls for me? How do I make a local call? The idiom give somebody a call is also common:I’ll give you a call tonight. In informal British English you could also say:I’ll give you a ring tonight. See related entries: Making calls
- 2 [intransitive] (of a telephone) to make a sound because somebody is trying to telephone you Will you answer the telephone if it rings? bell
- 3 [transitive, intransitive] if you ring a bell or if a bell rings, it produces a sound ring (something) Someone was ringing the doorbell. The church bells rang. The doorbell rang loudly. ring for somebody/something Just ring for the nurse (= attract the nurse's attention by ringing a bell) if you need her. with sound
- 4[intransitive] ring (with something) (literary) to be full of a sound; to fill a place with sound synonym resound The house rang with children's laughter. Applause rang through the hall. with quality
- 5[intransitive] ring (with something) to be full of a particular quality His words rang with pride. of ears
- 6[intransitive] 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. Word OriginOld English hringan, of Germanic origin, perhaps imitative.Extra examples Applause rang through the hall. Could you ring for a cab? David rang up while you were out. He said he was ringing from London. I’ll ring you later. I’m ringing about your advertisement in the paper. Just ring for the nurse if you need her. She rang to say she’d be late. Someone was ringing the doorbell. The church bells rang. The doorbell rang loudly. The house rang with children’s laughter. When is the best time to ring New York?Idioms
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BrE BrE//rɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//rɪŋ//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they ring BrE BrE//rɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//rɪŋ//
he / she / it rings BrE BrE//rɪŋz//; NAmE NAmE//rɪŋz//
past simple rang BrE BrE//ræŋ//; NAmE NAmE//ræŋ//
past participle rung BrE BrE//rʌŋ//; NAmE NAmE//rʌŋ//
-ing form ringing BrE BrE//ˈrɪŋɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//ˈrɪŋɪŋ//
Making callsif you say that alarm bells are ringing, you mean that people are starting to feel worried and suspicious The government’s proposal has set alarm bells ringing for people on low incomes.
(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.
(British English) to make changes to something in order to have greater variety Ring the changes with a new colour.
to make you feel that you can still hear something His warning was still ringing in my ears.
(usually used in the progressive tenses) (of a telephone) to ring many times The phone has been ringing off the hook with offers of help.
to give the impression of being sincere/true or not sincere/true It may seem a strange story but it rings true to me. Phrasal Verbsring aroundring backring inring offring outring roundring throughring up
Check pronunciation: ring
