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chime

noun, verb — 10 senses

chime

noun

UK /tʃaɪm/

Etymology From Middle English chymbe, chyme, probably from Old Northern French chimbe (“cymbal”), a back-formation from chimble, cimble, from Latin cymbalum; perhaps reinforced by a misinterpretation of a Middle English *chymbele (from Old English ċimbala, ċimbal (“cymbal”)) as chymbe belle.

1

Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music A musical instrument producing a sound when struck, similar to a bell (e.g. a tubular metal bar) or actually a bell. Often used in the plural to refer to the set: the chimes.

  • Hugo had a recording of someone playing the chimes against a background of surf noise that she found calming.
  • Sylvia was a chime player in the school orchestra.
2

An individual ringing component of such a set.

  • Peter removed the C♯ chime from its mounting so that he could get at the dust that had accumulated underneath.
3

A small bell or other ringing or tone-making device as a component of some other device.

  • The professor had stuffed a wad of gum into the chime of his doorbell so that he wouldn't be bothered.
4

The sound of such an instrument or device.

  • The copier gave a chime to indicate that it had finished printing.
  • Chimes sing Sunday morn.
5

A small hammer or other device used to strike a bell.

  • Strike the bell with the brass chime hanging on the chain next to it.
Synonyms
alarm, bell, buzz, buzzer, carillon, clapper, curfew, ding-dong, dinger, glockenspiel, gong, peal, ringer, siren, tintinnabulum, tocsin, toll, vesper
Derived terms
achime, chimeless, chimelike, chimer, chimesmaster, chime whistle, chimist, clock chime, spoon chime, wind chime, windchime

chime

verb

Etymology From Middle English chymbe, chyme, probably from Old Northern French chimbe (“cymbal”), a back-formation from chimble, cimble, from Latin cymbalum; perhaps reinforced by a misinterpretation of a Middle English *chymbele (from Old English ċimbala, ċimbal (“cymbal”)) as chymbe belle.

1

To make the sound of a chime.

  • The microwave chimed to indicate that it was done cooking.
  • I got up for lunch as soon as the wall clock began chiming noon.
1 more example
  • An interesting feature of the church is the invisible clock, which you can hear thumping away as you enter. Constructed in 1525, it is one of the oldest timepieces in England. It chimes the hours and the quarters, and every three hours it plays a hymn. But it has no faces.1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 163:
2

To cause to sound in harmony; to play a tune, as upon a set of bells; to move or strike in harmony.

  • And chime their sounding hammers.1697, Virgil, “The Fourth Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
3

To utter harmoniously; to recite rhythmically.

  • Chime his childish verse.1809, Lord Byron, English Bards and Scotch Reviewers:
4

To agree; to correspond.

  • The other lab's results chimed with mine, so I knew we were on the right track with the research.
  • Everything chimed in with such a humor.1824, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], Tales of a Traveller, (please specify |part=1 to 4), Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea, […], →OCLC:
5

To make a rude correspondence of sounds; to jingle, as in rhyming.

  • It shall not keep one settled pace of time, In the same tune it shall not always chimea. 1667, Abraham Cowley, Ode Upon Liberty:
Derived terms
chime in, chime up, rechime

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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