Origin: Germanic Old English prefix
Bells has 5 different meanings across 1 category:
plural of bell
"The sailors struck their bells at noon and midnight to signal the passing of twelve hours since departure."
Ship's bells; the strokes on a ship's bell, every half-hour, to mark the passage of time.
In plain English: Bells are metal objects that make a ringing sound when you shake them, pull their clapper inside, or hit them with something else.
"The church bells rang loudly to announce noon prayer."
Usage: In nautical contexts, "bells" refers specifically to the hourly chimes used by sailors to track elapsed time during watches. This usage is distinct from common everyday references to door or church bells and should not be confused with general alarm sounds.
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of bell
"The clock bells ring every hour on the hour."
In plain English: To ring something, such as a bell, to make it produce sound.
"The children bells out with excitement when they saw Santa Claus arrive."
plural of Bell
"We drove to Bells, Tennessee, to visit my grandmother's old farm."
A city in Tennessee