church bell
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A bell in a church tower: A large bell, typically housed in the tower or steeple of a church, designed to be heard over a wide area.
- A bell used for religious summons or marking time: Its primary function is to call people to worship, mark the hours, or signal important events in the life of the church and community.
Usage
- The singular form "church bell" refers to one such bell.
- The plural form "church bells" refers to multiple bells, often implying their collective sound.
- It is commonly used to describe a sound, a physical object, or a symbol of a community.
Examples
- Noun:
- The loud church bell woke the entire village at dawn.
- We could hear the church bells ringing for the wedding ceremony.
- The old church bell has been silent for decades.
Advanced Usage
- "To sound/toll the church bell": To ring the bell, often with a slow, solemn rhythm for a funeral or memorial.
- The sexton tolled the church bell once for each year of the deceased's life.
- "The peal of church bells": The loud, ringing sound of bells, often in celebration.
- The air was filled with the joyful peal of church bells on New Year's Day.
Variants and Related Words
- Bell tower (n): The structure that houses a church bell.
- The bell tower stood tall against the sky.
- Steeple (n): A tall tower on a church, often containing bells.
- The steeple was damaged in the storm.
- Carillon (n): A set of stationary bells in a tower, played using a keyboard.
- The university's carillon plays a concert every Sunday.
Synonyms
- Tower bell: A bell located in a tower.
- Sacred bell: A bell used for religious purposes (more general).
Related Phrases
- "As sound as a bell": In perfect condition or health. (Idiom; note: this idiom uses "bell" generally, not specifically "church bell").
- After the repair, the old engine was as sound as a bell.
- "For whom the bell tolls": A phrase emphasizing human interconnectedness and mortality, famously from a work by John Donne. It evokes the sound of a funeral bell.
- The novel's title, For Whom the Bell Tolls, reminds us that any person's death diminishes us all.
Noun
- a bell in a church tower (usually sounded to summon people to church)
- church bells were ringing all over town