- ring
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 piece of jewellery/jewelryADJECTIVE▪ engagement, eternity (esp. BrE), promise (esp. AmE), purity (esp. AmE), signet, wedding▪ diamond, gold, silver, etc.▪
She wore a diamond engagement ring.
▪ belly-button, eyebrow, lip, navel, nipple, nose, tongue, etc.▪She had a small nose ring.
▪ pinky (AmE)▪ championship, Super Bowl™ (both AmE)▪He has earned three Super Bowl rings in the last four years.
VERB + RING▪ have on, sport, wear▪He had a signet ring on his little finger.
▪His right ear sported a gold ring.
▪ put on, slide on, slip on▪He slipped the ring on her finger.
▪ pull off, slide off, slip off, take off▪ exchange▪They exchange rings and wedding vows.
▪ kiss▪She kissed the great ring of the archbishop of Chicago.
RING + NOUN▪ finger (= the finger next to the little finger, esp. on the left hand)▪ box (esp. AmE)▪I pulled the small ring box out of my pocket.
2 circleADJECTIVE▪ inner, innermost▪ outer, outermost▪ concentric▪The street plan of the city has evolved as a series of concentric rings.
▪ black, dark▪He had dark rings around his eyes.
▪ smoke▪He can blow smoke rings.
▪ tree▪ onion▪a plate of onion rings
▪ teething▪ napkinVERB + RING▪ form, stand in▪The children formed a ring around their teacher.
PREPOSITION▪ ring of▪a ring of fire/smoke/stones
▪ in a/the ring▪The children sat on the floor in a ring.
3 where a performance, match, etc. takes placeADJECTIVE▪ boxing, bull, circus, show, wrestlingVERB + RING▪ enter▪He entered the ring wearing his usual outfit.
▪ leave▪Ashton left the ring with a nasty cut to the right eye.
PREPOSITION▪ in the ring, into the ring▪He was back in the ring (= the boxing ring) only a month after the injury.
PHRASES▪ retire from the ring (= stop boxing)4 people involved in sth secret/illegalADJECTIVE▪ drug (esp. AmE), drugs (BrE), money-laundering, prostitution, smuggling, spyVERB + RING▪ be involved in▪ break up, bust (esp. AmE)▪Customs officials have broken up a major drug ring.
5 (BrE) telephone callVERB + RING▪ give sb▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}I'll give you a ring once I get home.
verbRing is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑alarm, ↑bell, ↑cash register, ↑cellphone, ↑clock, ↑doorbell, ↑ear, ↑mobile phone, ↑phone, ↑telephone, ↑till, ↑viewer, ↑voice, ↑wordRing is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ambulance, ↑bell, ↑buzzer, ↑cash register, ↑doorbell, ↑hotline, ↑number, ↑peal, ↑reception, ↑switchboard
Collocations dictionary. 2013.