Word.ws English Dictionary

with bells on

with bells on prepositional phrase: with eager anticipation and enthusiasm, especially regarding the acceptance of an invitation.

Prepositional phrase

  1. (idiomatic) With eager anticipation and enthusiasm, especially regarding the acceptance of an invitation.
    • How about a BBQ at our house, Saturday June 14th, 4pm?
    • Great idea! We'll be there with bells on.

Origin of with bells on

Developed by the nineteenth century from earlier literal associations between bells and their lively, attention-drawing presence.

Questions about with bells on

What does with bells on mean?
With bells on means with eager anticipation and enthusiasm, especially regarding the acceptance of an invitation.
What part of speech is with bells on?
With bells on is a prepositional phrase.

Words near with bells on in the dictionary

  1. with apologies to
  2. with arms wide open
  3. with bad grace
  4. with baited breath
  5. with bated breath
  6. with bells on
  7. with blackjack and hookers
  8. with both eyes open
  9. with both hands
  10. with brass knobs on
  11. with calf

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: with bells on (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.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-with bells on.ogg.

Cite this entry: “with bells on.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/with_bells_on. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.