Definition of 'peal'
COBUILD frequency band
peal
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense peals , present participle pealing , past tense, past participle pealed
1. intransitive verb
When bells peal, they ring one after another, making a musical sound.
2. countable noun
A peal of laughter or thunder consists of a long, loud series of sounds.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
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COBUILD frequency band
peal in American English
nounOrigin: ME pele, aphetic for apele, appeal
1.
the loud ringing of a bell or set of bells
3.
any loud, prolonged sound, as of gunfire, thunder, laughter, etc.
verb intransitive, verb transitive
4.
to sound in a peal; resound; ring
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 5th Digital Edition. Copyright © 2025 HarperCollins Publishers.
COBUILD frequency band
peal in American English
(pil)
noun
1.
a loud, prolonged ringing of bells
2.
a set of bells tuned to one another
3.
a series of changes rung on a set of bells
transitive verb
5.
to sound loudly and sonorously
to peal the bells of a tower
intransitive verb
SYNONYMS 4. reverberation, resounding, clangor.7.
to sound forth in a peal; resound
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019 by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[1350–1400; ME pele, akin to peal to beat, strike (now dial.)]COBUILD frequency band
peal in British English 1
noun
2. bell-ringing
a series of changes rung in accordance with specific rules, consisting of not fewer than 5000 permutations in a ring of eight bells
verb
4. (intransitive)
to sound with a peal or peals
6. (transitive)
to ring (bells) in peals
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
C14 pele, variant of apele appealExamples of 'peal' in a sentence peal
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In other languages
peal
British English: peal
VERB /piːl/
When bells peal, they ring one after another, making a musical sound.
The bells pealed at the stroke of midnight.
