n. 1.a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck 2.a push button at an outer door that gives a ringing or buzzing signal when pushed 3.the sound of a bell being struck 4.(nautical) each of the eight half-hour units of nautical time signaled by strokes of a ship's bell 5.the shape of a bell 6.a phonetician and father of Alexander Graham Bell (1819-1905) 7.English painter 8.United States inventor (born in Scotland) of the telephone (1847-1922) 9.a percussion instrument consisting of vertical metal tubes of different lengths that are struck with a hammer 10.the flared opening of a tubular device bell v. 1.attach a bell to