noun

• A bell rung immediately after a death as a signal for prayers.

  ‘No passing bells here, though there are three churches within spitting distance.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Owen had come closer to the reality when he had asked ‘What passing bells for these who die as cattle?’’
  • ‘The last of the book's generous number of historical illustrations has the timbre of a passing bell: a ‘Design for a Motor Garage and Chauffeur's Lodge’ from 1913.’
  • ‘She was awakened rudely by the ringing of the passing bell.’
  • ‘When biting the kerb in a Paris street, there is no recompense, no handfuls of clay with which to sign the mould for your own passing bell.’