ring
A small circle made of metal that you wear on your finger.
A small circular band, typically of metal, worn around a finger as jewelry or a symbol of marriage, engagement, or membership.
The sound you hear from a bell or phone when it is used.
The clear resonant sound produced by a bell, telephone, or similar device when it is struck or activated.
To make a bell or phone make its sound.
To cause a bell, telephone, or similar device to produce its characteristic sound.
A space, often round, where people do sports like boxing or shows like in a circus.
A circular or square area marked out for boxing, wrestling, circus acts, or similar performances.
To go around someone or something in a circle.
To form a circle around someone or something, often to enclose or protect it.
A group of people who do illegal things together.
A group of people acting together for illegal purposes such as smuggling, fraud, or theft.
- Base: ring
- Plural: rings
- Base: ring
- 3rd Person Singular: rings
- Present Participle: ringing
- Past: rang
- Past Participle: rung
- Irregular past: rang Verb
- Irregular past participle: rung Verb
give someone a ring
1Call someone on the telephone
To call someone using the phone.
- I'll give you a ring tomorrow evening.
- Give me a ring when you get home safely.
run rings around someone
1Perform much better than someone easily
To do something much better than another person without difficulty.
- She ran rings around her opponents in the debate.
- Our team ran rings around theirs in the second half.
throw one's hat in the ring
1Announce participation in competition/candidacy
To say you want to try for something, like a job or position.
- He threw his hat in the ring for the mayoral race.
- Several candidates have already thrown their hats in the ring.
ring a bell
1Seem familiar to someone mentally
To sound like something you have heard before but cannot fully remember.
- Her name doesn't ring a bell with me.
- That name doesn't ring a bell for me.
- That song rings a bell — I think I've heard it before.
- Her face rings a bell, but I can't remember where we've met.
three-ring circus
1many things happening at once
A situation where many different things are happening at the same time, often in a confusing or crazy way.
- The office was like a three-ring circus on Monday morning.
- Planning the wedding has been a three-ring circus from the start.
- Planning this wedding has turned into a three-ring circus.
- The office turned into a three-ring circus during the merger.
- Running the festival is a three-ring circus every year.