church bell

Tower's bronze voice

A church bell is a large bell housed in a church tower or steeple, rung to call worshippers to services, mark the hours, or announce significant events like weddings and funerals.

The sound carries across a community, making church bells traditional markers of time and occasion: We could hear the church bells from across the valley.

sound

peal

Resonant ringing burst

tollFee for passage
chimeMelodic bell sound
clangLoud metallic sound

ring · dong · knell · reverberation · echo · resonance · sonorous · vibration · timbre · pitch

signal

summons

Formal court notification

alarmUrgent warning signal
curfewMandated return time
callContact by phone

announcement · warning · herald · knell · tocsin · death knell · proclamation · gathering · alert · vespers

ceremony

wedding

Marriage rite and feast

funeralService honoring the dead
baptismRitual water purification ceremony
massQuantity of matter

ordination · confirmation · communion · christening · vespers · matrimony · procession · sacrament · service · requiem

construction

bronze

Copper-tin alloy

clapperBell's internal striker
foundryMetal casting facility
castPerformers, throw, or splint

tower · steeple · campanile · yoke · crown · lip · mouth · headstock · sally · wheel

timekeeping

hour

Sixty-minute span

quarterOne of four parts
halfEqual portion of two
midnightTwelve o'clock at night

noon · sunrise · sunset · matins · vespers · curfew · evening · morning · clocktower · striking

Categories

bellstower bells, cowbell, cowbells, dinner bells, doorbell
French countrysidefarmhouse, village, hamlet, lavender field, lavender fields
village scenerycobblestones, narrow streets, stone houses, village square, piazza
ritual instrumentssinging bowl, shofar, gong, singing bowls, conch shell
bell shapesbellflower, bluebell, cowbell, handbell, harebell
soundssound, beeps, listen, sounds, hear

Opposites

sound production method

church bellhand bell

Handheld percussion instrument

dinner bell · desk bell · sleigh bells · wind chimes · doorbell

sacred vs. secular signaling

church bellfactory whistle

Loud industrial shift signal

fire alarm · air raid siren · town crier · foghorn · school bell

sound character

church bellwhite noise

Constant random sound

static · ringtone · beep

Family

church, bell, belfry, carillon, church bells

Familiarity: Top 50,000
Profile: Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Positive · Everyday, not technical · Rated G