ringer

English

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈrɪŋə/
• Rhymes: -ɪŋə(r)

Etymology 1

From ring (“to sound a bell”) + -er.

Noun

ringer (plural ringers)

1. Someone who rings, especially a bell ringer.
   • 1863, Jean Ingelow, High Tide on the Coast of Lincolnshire,

     Pull, if ye never pull'd before;

     Good ringers, pull your best," quoth he.

Etymology 2

From ring (“to surround”)

Noun

ringer (plural ringers)

1. In the game of horseshoes, when the horseshoe lands around the pole.

Etymology 3

Probably from ring the changes

Noun

ringer (plural ringers)

1. A person highly proficient at a skill or sport who is brought in, often fraudulently, to supplement a team.
2. A person, animal, or entity which resembles another so closely as to be taken for the other. (Now usually in the phrase dead ringer)
3. A person with orange or red hair, often used as an insult.

Derived terms

• dead ringer

Etymology 4

Unknown

Noun

ringer (plural ringers)

1. (UK, dialect) A top performer
2. (Australian) A stockman; a drover

Anagrams

• erring

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Swedish

Verb

ringer

1. present tense of ringa.