Word.ws English Dictionary

ringing someone's bell

ringing someone's bell is the present participle and gerund of ring someone's bell.

Meaning of ring someone's bell

Verb

ring someone's bell (third-person singular simple present rings someone's bell, present participle ringing someone's bell, simple past rang someone's bell, past participle rung someone's bell)

  1. (idiomatic) To physically traumatize someone with a strong blow, especially a concussive blow to the head.
    • Braves outfielder Eddie Miller was struck in the head with an object thrown from the left field seats. . . . Braves manager Bobby Cox said Miller was more dazed than hurt. "It stung him pretty good, it rang his bell," Cox said.1981 May 5, “Heads Up in the Outfield”, in St. Petersburg Evening Independent, retrieved 19 Jan 2010, page 4C
  2. (idiomatic) To please; to satisfy greatly.
    • My normal lack of confidence with women is quickly forgotten when I meet one who rings my bell.2012, Melvin Ricks, To Die Before You Die

Questions about ringing someone's bell

What is ringing someone's bell the present participle and gerund of?
Ringing someone's bell is the present participle and gerund of ring someone's bell.

Words near ringing someone's bell in the dictionary

  1. ringing off
  2. ringing off the hook
  3. ringing one's bell
  4. ringing out
  5. ringing round
  6. ringing someone's bell
  7. ringing the changes
  8. ringing the devil's doorbell
  9. ringing the welkins
  10. ringing through
  11. ringing true

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ringing someone's bell (page history and authors); ring someone's bell (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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