Main meanings of chime in English

: chime¹ chime²

chime¹

Pronunciation /tʃʌɪm/

See synonyms for chime

Translate chime into Spanish

noun

1A melodious ringing sound, as produced by striking a bell.
‘the chimes of Big Ben’
- ‘Even out here, he had heard the chimes and was transported.’
- ‘A few seconds after she spoke, the crew of the Varian could hear the same mysterious chimes floating through the air, but this time, they did have a melody.’
- ‘Reality of the situation came back down when I heard the chimes go through the house and I froze, horrified.’
- ‘Through the thin trunks of birch and larger oaks, she could hear the flat chimes of running water, and knew she was close.’
- ‘In the silence between chimes, she had heard soft, well concealed steps as her watcher ran up the castle stairs.’
- ‘Ty glanced around when he heard the chimes echo throughout the castle.’
- ‘It sounded like melodious chimes ringing into my ears.’
- ‘Out of a buzzy analog haze, a stomping bassline gathers up all the lost children and, in a glorious series of chimes and welcoming blips, sends them out into a magical world of candy cane funk.’
- ‘The cold morning breeze and a festive ambience, the chime of bells and melodious carols signal the arrival of Christmas.’
- ‘Framed by a mixed bag of submerged synth sounds and clanging chimes, the moody ‘Lover's Rock’ lumbers out of the gate before settling into a nice trot.’
- ‘With the chime of the glockenspiel and the slow pull of the violin the band began and invited us to witness a cavalcade of sound and images.’
- ‘The next song, ‘All the Arms Around You’, wraps Diers's deadpan vocals with the ideal accoutrement: ringing chimes!’
- ‘The distant chime of bells sounded in the parlor.’
- ‘For six minutes, the song flows leisurely across faintly ringing organ tones and chimes, with just a few scattered notes recalling some of Fahey's concrete leanings.’
- ‘It starts with what sounds like the distant chimes of gamelan music reverberating around a cavern and then morphs into a different winding style every eight minutes or so.’
- ‘A chime of bells, normally in a tower, played either from a keyboard or mechanically by a barrel (like that of a barrel organ, but larger) or similar device.’
- ‘Just as quickly, the band shoves terra firma back under your feet; drums die, pianos fade, and chimes reverb in the brickblack.’
- ‘The constant recycling of chimes seasoned with crowd noises, tube announcements and nature sounds acts as a sonic tour of the city.’
- ‘The chime of metal on metal sounded, and Lanfilar opened his eyes to see a very encouraging sight.’
- ‘Chris waited outside of Mrs. Schmidt's Contemporary Issues class as the last chime of the bell rang through the hall.’
peal, pealing, ringing, carillon, toll, tolling, sound
View synonyms
1. 1.1A bell or a metal bar or tube that is tuned and used in a set to produce a melodious series of ringing sounds when struck.
  ‘the warm breeze whispered through the chimes hanging from the balcony ceiling’
  ‘Take off the cover to the chimes or bells and inspect the points that strike the chime or bell for dirt.’
  ‘Some looked like variants of things I recognized; there were string instruments like lutes or small guitars, there were drums, chimes, tambourines.’
  ‘Here, Stewart's vocals hang in hazy suspensions of wafting guitars, piercing chimes, subliminal drones, and ornately wrought percussion.’
  ‘Swooning, proggy mellotron sounds, crunchy electronic percussion, fat blobs of analogue synth, gamelan chimes and digital noise compete for centre stage in quickfire exchanges.’
  ‘A celeste is an antique piano that plays chimes, like a bigger, richer bell sound.’
  ‘The rich bass, sustaining guitar, and chimes offer a pleasing blend of sound, but goes on much too long for the amount of compositional advancement.’
  ‘The sound of bells and chimes colored the breeze.’
  ‘And the background music totally had the bells and chimes and violins and cellos and soft brass going.’
  ‘Recorders whistle through delay pedals, tracing out skeletal melodies in a haze of chimes and throbbing bass as cymbals roll and drums rumble through ever-shifting pulse patterns.’
  ‘The chimes and squiggling synths on ‘Run’ are forlorn reminders of this sound.’
  ‘The use of chimes and tubular bells is another reason.’
  ‘The prepositions, in their bag, made a sound of agreement like metal chimes.’
  ‘Even when the mood becomes threatening, as on the gloomy The Moon Versus The Sea or Mytikas, Haugh balances it with airy bells and chimes.’
  ‘Strings, chimes, horns, pianos and bells appear in nearly every song, no matter how fast the tempo or searing the guitars, and, most importantly, they never feel forced.’
  ‘Opening the door of the carriage, William stepped out and pulled the cord of the bell chime, listening as the sound echoed through the house.’
  ‘Towards the end of the show, Lieberman hands out percussion instruments - triangles, chimes, shakers - and has no trouble finding volunteers to take the instruments.’
2. 1.2Bell Ringing A stroke of the clapper against one or both sides of a scarcely moving bell.
  ‘Doomsday was not on the agenda when the chimes struck midnight and 2000 was born.’
  ‘The chime struck twice, to ring in the second millennium.’
  ‘Time passes again, the same clock hands spin madly, the same bells ring and the same chimes chime.’
  ‘The twelfth chime struck and Krizzia awoke panting.’
  ‘With aching finality, the moon unseen reached its perihelion in the sky and the hour sounded the twelve chimes of middle night.’

verb

[no object]

(of a bell or clock) make melodious ringing sounds, typically to indicate the time.
‘the grandfather clock in the next room chimed’
- ‘the clock chimed eight’
- ‘A bell chimed from a grandfather clock in the corner of the room.’
- ‘Elsewhere, other fireworks lit the night sky, as the St Magnus Cathedral bells chimed over Broad Street revellers and Stromness echoed to the sound of ships' horns.’
- ‘At 10.29 am, when the second tower collapsed, bells chimed and fog-horns of boats on the nearby Hudson River sounded.’
- ‘The bell chimed out, its sharp sound a contrast to the stillness as the Courtmacsherry Lifeboat rolled in the gentle swell.’
- ‘As I listened to these bells chiming and the birds singing, I thought to myself that this was the quintessence of a peaceful American university campus.’
- ‘Wedding bells were chiming merrily in the parish recently.’
- ‘As the bells chimed at 3.30 pm seven police officers - six men and one woman - removed their helmets in a mark of respect to their fallen comrade watched by about 25 bystanders.’
- ‘Temple bells chimed as men in flowing kurtas and multicoloured turbans and bejewelled women in vivid pinks and purples paid obeisance to their guru, Baba Gulabgir.’
- ‘The people of Manchester honked horns and blew whistles as the town hall bells chimed for a minute to show support for the ‘Big Bang’ Metrolink extension.’
- ‘At every door in the street there is a shivering first-foot whose task, once the bells have chimed, is to enter and prevent the family from being prisoners in their own home.’
- ‘I reminded myself that it would be over when the bell chimed, and there was no need to look at the clock.’
- ‘Most of us have visions of the perfect English summers day: hours by the river, picnics, riding creaking bicycles while church bells chime softly in the distance.’
- ‘At midnight, the bells would chime across the city, town or village.’
- ‘SOME HOURS before the New Year bells chime at midnight, the light from the evening sun peeps through the dark clouds - a ray of hope for 2004.’
- ‘Out of the blue came a long, beautiful note, followed by more, until they were strung into what sounded like fairies singing and bells chiming.’
- ‘The abbey's tenor bell chimed for the 101st time - once a minute for every year of the Queen Mother's life - as the service began.’
- ‘It was a relief when the bells chimed at the end of the period.’
- ‘A bell chimed as Mr. Wellington entered the print shop with an empty sack and perspiration shining on his brow.’
- ‘As Vincent pushed the glass door open, the small bells chimed.’
- ‘Staring at the clock, Autumn waited the five seconds left before the bell would chime.’
ring, peal, toll, sound
strike, sound
View synonyms

Phrasal Verbs

chime in

Join or interrupt a conversation by making a remark.
with direct speech ‘‘Yes, you do that,’ Dave chimed in eagerly’
- ‘Just thought I'd chime in during the commercial break.’
- ‘The young woman's male counterpart quickly chimed in, interrupting her.’
- ‘I'll have Rosalynn chime in on that right after we come back from the break.’
- ‘It's going to be very hot, says Barney, to murmurs of assent from Crimson Brit and Urban Chic man, chiming in for the first time.’
- ‘I normally refrain from chiming in to an editor, but this story piqued my civic conscience.’
- ‘I can almost hear you chiming in, and no doubt you'll want to compile your own list.’
- ‘Her friend Cheryl chimes in: ‘We gave up on aerobics.’’
- ‘Malorni chimes in: ‘I had a big black welt on my head.’’
- ‘The estate agent quickly chimes in: ‘But, er, well, you know, that's, um, that's definitely in the mid-range of what you'd usually pay for a one-bedroom flat in London.’’
- ‘Tansy chimes in, her big brown eyes sparkling, ‘You'll never have to leave!’’
- ‘‘The work in the plantation is difficult,’ a tea-plucker chimes in, her fingers deftly plucking the leaves with ease and then transferring them to a basket cradled from her forehead.’
- ‘Fellow Razor Dog Ian Penny Pennington chimes in: ‘We played at the All Age Rage and showed them how it's done.’’
- ‘Lord chimes in: ‘I really think this form of animation is the best way of conveying emotion.’’
- ‘‘The human being will never be happy,’ Cáceres chimes in.’
- ‘‘There's a marvellous new wiping-up sponge on the market that I was able to tell Tina about; she was thrilled,’ he chimes in, laughing.’
- ‘Dan chimes in: ‘People seem to have forgotten that being in a rock band is by its nature ridiculous.’’
- ‘‘Neither can Beryl,’ one of the other middle-aged serving matrons chimes in.’
- ‘At this point, my manager chimes in over the airwaves.’
- ‘Lachlan chimes in that the family is giving up hundreds of millions of dollars of value to get the change of domicile done.’

chime with

British

chime with someone or somethingBe in harmony or agreement with someone or something.
- ‘his poem chimes with our modern experience of loss’

Origin

Middle English (in the senses ‘cymbal’ and ‘ring out’): probably from Old English cimbal (see cymbal), later interpreted as chime bell.