[countable]a piece of jewellery that you wear on your finger, consisting of a round band of gold, silver, etc., sometimes decorated with precious stones
a gold ring
a diamond ring(= a ring with a diamond on it)
He was wearing a ring on his middle finger.
Her mother gave her a beautiful ring.
see alsoengagement ring,nose ring,signet ring,wedding ring
Extra Examples
He slipped the ring on her finger.
I pulled the small ring box out of my pocket.
They exchange rings and wedding vows.
She kissed the great ring of the archbishop of Chicago.
He has earned three Super Bowl rings in the last four years.
Topics Clothes and Fashiona2,Life stagesa2
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
engagement
eternity
promise
…
verb + ring
have on
sport
wear
…
ring + noun
finger
box
See full entry
circle
enlarge image
[countable]an object in the shape of a circle with a large hole in the middle
a key ring
curtain rings
the rings of Saturn
The villagers were literally surrounded by a ring of fire.
see alsokey ring,onion ring
Extra Examples
a plate of onion rings
His right ear sported a gold ring.
He can blow smoke rings.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
inner
innermost
outer
…
verb + ring
form
stand in
preposition
ring of
in a/the ring
See full entry
enlarge image
[countable]a round mark or shape
She had dark rings around her eyes from lack of sleep.
The children sat on the floor in a ring.
The army formed a protective ring around the presidential palace.
Extra Examples
The children formed a ring around their teacher.
The street plan of the city has evolved as a series of concentric rings.
He had dark rings around his eyes.
She drew a neat blue ring around the phone number.
Topics Plants and treesb1
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
inner
innermost
outer
…
verb + ring
form
stand in
preposition
ring of
in a/the ring
See full entry
for performance/competition
[countable]an area in which animals or people perform or compete, with seats around the outside for the audience
a boxing ring
a circus ring
The next competitor rode into the ring.
see alsobullring
Extra Examples
He entered the ring wearing his usual outfit.
He was back in the ring only a month after the injury.
Topics Sports: other sportsc1
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
boxing
bull
circus
…
verb + ring
enter
leave
preposition
in the ring
into the ring
phrases
retire from the ring
See full entry
for cooking
[countable](especially British English)a small flat place on a cooker that is heated by gas or electricity and is used for cooking onsynonymburner
to turn off the gas ring
I put the saucepan on the ring.
see alsogas ring
group of people
[countable]a group of people who are working together, especially in secret or illegally
a spy ring
a drugs ring
Extra Examples
The four men are accused of running a drug smuggling ring.
Customs officials have broken up a major drug ring.
Topics Crime and punishmentc2
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
drug
drugs
money-laundering
…
verb + ring
be involved in
break up
bust
…
See full entry
Word OriginOld English hring, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch ring, German Ring, also to the noun rank.
Idioms
the brass ring
(North American English, informal)the opportunity to be successful; success that you have worked hard to get
The girls' outdoor track team has grabbed the brass ring seven times.
Topics Successc2
run rings around/round somebody
(informal)to be much better at doing something than somebody else
I used to beat my son at chess but now he runs rings around me.
throw your hat into the ring
to announce officially that you are going to compete in an election, a competition, etc.
In British English, to phone, to ring and to call are the usual ways of saying to telephone. In North American English the most common word is call, but phone is also used. Speakers of North American English do not say ring. Telephone is very formal and is used mainly in British English.
Nouns
You can use call or phone call (more formal) in both British English and North American English:
Were there any phone calls for me?
How do I make a local call?
The idiom give somebody a call is also common:
I’ll give you a call tonight.
In informal British English you could also say:
I’ll give you a ring tonight.
Topics Phones, email and the interneta2
[intransitive](of a phone)to make a sound because somebody is trying to phone you
Will you answer the telephone if it rings?
The phone rang and rang (= rang for a long time) until eventually someone answered.
I'm just waiting for the phone to ring.
bell
[transitive, intransitive]if you ring a bell or if a bell rings, it produces a sound
ring (something)Someone was ringing the doorbell.
The church bells rang.
The doorbell rang loudly.
ring for somebody/somethingJust ring for the nurse (= attract the nurse's attention by ringing a bell) if you need her.
She climbed out of bed and rang for her maid.
with sound
[intransitive]ring (with something)(literary)to be full of a sound; to fill a place with soundsynonymresound
The house rang with children's laughter.
Applause rang through the hall.
with quality
[intransitive]ring (with something)to be full of a particular quality
His words rang with pride.
of ears
[intransitive]to be uncomfortable and be unable to hear clearly, usually because you have heard a loud noise, etc.
The music was so loud it made my ears ring.
Word OriginOld English hringan, of Germanic origin, perhaps imitative.
Idioms
alarm bells ring/are ringing
if you say that alarm bells are ringing, you mean that people are starting to feel worried and to suspect that something is wrong
The government’s proposal has set alarm bells ringing for people on low incomes.
ring a bell
(informal)to sound familiar to you, as though you have heard it before
His name rings a bell but I can't think where we met.
ring the changes (with something)
(British English)to make changes to something in order to have greater variety
Ring the changes with a new colour.
ring in your ears/head
to make you feel that you can still hear something
His warning was still ringing in my ears.
ring off the hook
(usually used in the progressive tenses)(of a phone)to ring many times, with one phone call after another
The phone has been ringing off the hook with offers of help.
ring true/hollow/false
to give the impression of being sincere/true or not sincere/true
It may seem a strange story but it rings true to me.
His expressions of support rang rather hollow.
His promise rang hollow.
ring2
noun
/rɪŋ/
/rɪŋ/
Idioms
jump to other results
of bell
[countable]the sound that a bell makes; the act of ringing a bell
There was a ring at the door.
He gave a couple of loud rings on the doorbell.
sound
[singular]a loud, clear sound
the ring of horse’s hooves on the cobblestones
quality
[singular]ring (of something)a particular quality that words, sounds, etc. have
His explanation has a ring of truth about it.
Her protestation of innocence had a hollow ring to it(= did not sound sincere).
The story had a familiar ring to it (= as if I had heard it before).
Word OriginOld English hringan, of Germanic origin, perhaps imitative.
Idioms
the brass ring
(North American English, informal)the opportunity to be successful; success that you have worked hard to get
The girls' outdoor track team has grabbed the brass ring seven times.
Topics Successc2
give somebody a ring
(British English, informal)to make a phone call to somebody
In British English, to phone, to ring and to call are the usual ways of saying to telephone. In North American English the most common word is call, but phone is also used. Speakers of North American English do not say ring. Telephone is very formal and is used mainly in British English.
Nouns
You can use call or phone call (more formal) in both British English and North American English:
enlarge image[countable] a piece of jewellery that you wear on your finger, consisting of a round band of gold, silver, etc., sometimes decorated with precious stones
enlarge image[countable] an object in the shape of a circle with a large hole in the middle
enlarge image[countable] a round mark or shape
