Definition

1. 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

1. a bell in a church tower (usually sounded to summon people to church)
   • church bells were ringing all over town