ring

1. A circular object, form, line, or arrangement with a vacant circular center.
2. A small circular band, generally made of precious metal and often set with jewels, worn on the finger.
3. A circular band used for carrying, holding, or containing something: a napkin ring.
4. rings Sports. A pair of circular metal bands suspended in the air for gymnastic exercises, on which balancing and swinging maneuvers are performed while holding the bands as motionless as possible.
5. A circular movement or course, as in dancing.
6. An enclosed, usually circular area in which exhibitions, sports, or contests take place: a circus ring.
7. Sports.
   1. A rectangular arena set off by stakes and ropes in which boxing or wrestling events are held.
   2. The sport of boxing.
8. Games.
   1. An enclosed area in which bets are placed at a racetrack.
   2. Bookmakers considered as a group.
9. An exclusive group of people acting privately or illegally to advance their own interests: a drug ring.
10. A political contest; a race.
11. Botany. An annual ring.
12. Mathematics. The area between two concentric circles; annulus.
13. Mathematics. A set of elements subject to the operations of addition and multiplication, in which the set is an abelian group under addition and associative under multiplication and in which the two operations are related by distributive laws.
14. Any of the turns constituting a spiral or helix.
15. Chemistry. A group of atoms linked by bonds that may be represented graphically in circular or triangular form. Also called closed chain.

1. To surround with or as if with a ring; encircle. See synonyms at surround.
2. To form into a ring or rings.
3. To ornament or supply with a ring or rings: ringed the door knocker with a wreath of holly.
4. To remove a circular strip of bark around the circumference of (a tree trunk or branch); girdle.
5. To put a ring in the nose of (an animal).
6. To hem in (animals) by riding in a circle around them.
7. Games. To toss a ring over (a peg), as in horseshoes.

1. To form a ring or rings.
2. To move, run, or fly in a spiral or circular course.

[Middle English, from Old English hring.]

For more information on ring, visit Britannica.com.

noun

1. A closed plane curve everywhere equidistant from a fixed point or something shaped like this: band¹, circle, circuit, disk, gyre, wheel. Archaic orb. See geometry.
2. A length of line folded over and joined at the ends so as to form a curve or circle: eye, loop. See straight/bent.
3. A group of individuals united in a common cause: bloc, cartel, coalition, combination, combine, faction, party. See group.
4. An organized group of criminals, hoodlums, or wrongdoers: band², gang, pack. Informal mob. See group.

verb

1. To encircle with or as if with a band: band¹, begird, belt, cincture, compass, encompass, engirdle, gird, girdle, girt. Archaic engird. See edge/center.
2. To shut in on all sides: begird, beset, circle, compass, encircle, encompass, environ, gird, girdle, hedge, hem, surround. See open/close.

Idioms beginning with ring:
ring a bell
ring down the curtain on
ring true
ring one's chimes
ringside seat
ring the changes

See also brass ring; give someone a ring; have a familiar ring; run rings around; three-ring circus; throw one's hat in the ring.

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Finger rings worn by Mary Nevill, Baroness Dacre, 1559.

A finger ring is a circular band worn as a type of ornamental jewellery around a finger; it is the most common current meaning of the word ring. Other types of metal bands worn as ornaments are also called rings, such as arm rings and neck rings.

Rings are worn by both men and women and can be of any quality. Rings can be made of metal, plastic, wood, bone, glass, gemstone and other materials. They may be set with a "stone" of some sort, which is often a precious or semi-precious gemstone such as ruby, sapphire or emerald, but can also be of almost any material.

Contents 1 Finger rings 1.1 Shapes and styles 1.2 Usage 1.3 Notable individual rings 2 Other types 3 See also 4 External links

Finger rings

Shapes and styles

Various ring shapes and styles exist. The following are but a few.

• Flat wedding bands are the simplest form of ring that can be made. A flat wedding band basically consists of a strip of metal that is bent around into a loop and joined where the ends meet.
• Half-round rings, also called D-shape rings, are flat wedding bands that are filed half-round on the outside.
• Sleeve rings are rings that consist of a thin inner ring or sleeve, with several other rings stacked onto it to form one solid ring. The rings can either be soldered onto the sleeve or the ends of the sleeve can be upset (like a tube rivet) to keep them all together. A little of both can also be done.
• Solitaire rings are rings with a single large stone as a centrepiece, usually a diamond.
• Eternity rings are rings with stones, usually diamonds, of the same cut and size, set in one row all around the ring. The stones are usually round or square, and the setting is usually either claws or a channel setting. When the stones do not continue around the entire ring, but stop halfway around the finger, it is called a half-eternity ring.
• Trinity rings are three rings to be worn at one time.
• Cluster rings are rings with a group of stones in a cluster setting, forming the focal point of the ring. The cluster setting usually consists of one large stone (usually round or oval) in the center surrounded with several smaller stones.

Usage

Ring	Usage
Aqiq ring	A carnelian or Agate ring worn by some Muslims, especially Shi'ah, in imitation of Muhammad and the twelve Imams.
Championship ring	A ring presented to members of winning teams in professional business leagues as well as college tournaments in North America.
Claddagh ring	An Irish friendship ring. It is traditionally used to indicate the state of romantic availability.
Class ring	Worn by students and alumni in commemoration of their graduation.
Dinner ring	An oversized ring, set with non-precious or semiprecious stones.
Eclarian ring	A ring worn by homosexual men to represent their beliefs. This ring has a separate centre which rotates.
Engagement ring	A traditional ring worn by a woman to indicate her engagement to be married.
Engineer's Ring, Iron Ring	A ring worn by engineers on the pinky finger of their working hand to remind them of their ethical obligations.
Eternity ring	A ring symbolising eternity with a partner.
Finger armor ring	Typically it spans from the base of the finger to just below the nail or middle of the second joint and includes a bending joint.
Friendship ring	Friendship rings are used to symbolize a close relationship that has no romantic undertone.
Gimmal ring	Ring made of 2 or 3 linking hoops, popular for betrothals in 16th and 17th century Europe
Magic ring	A fictitious ornament that appears frequently in fantasy stories and fairy tales.
Mood ring	A novelty ring which changes color in response to body temperature, using a thermochromic liquid crystal.
Mother's ring	A ring worn by a mother displaying the birthstone of each of her children, and sometimes including those of the mother and father.
Mourning ring	A ring worn in memory of someone who has died.
Multi-Finger ring	Two or more conjoined rings, designed to be worn across two, three, or four fingers; popularized by hip-hop culture.
Pinky ring	A ring worn on the pinky finger.
Posie ring	A ring with a short inscription on its outer surface.
Pre-engagement ring	A small, inexpensive ring given to a partner, to promise not to court a rival.
Promise ring	A ring worn to remind oneself of a promise one has made.
Purity ring	A symbol of virginity in some religious cultures.
Puzzle ring	Interlocking rings forming a single band; difficult to reassemble if removed from the finger.
Poison ring or Pillbox ring	A Ring consisting of a pillbox fitted into the ring, either for keeping medication or poison.
Regards ring	A Victorian engagement ring with an implicit acrostic: Ruby, Emerald, Garnet, Amethyst, Ruby, Diamond, Sapphire.
Ring of O	A ring inspired by the Story of O, Pauline Reage's novel, in which the heroine, "The O" is presented with such a ring as a symbol of her submission.
Rosary ring	A rosary ring is a ring worn around the finger with 10 indentations and a cross on the surface, representing one decade of a rosary. The rings are used to keep track of place in the prayer by rotating the ring on a finger and feeling the marks.
Signet ring	An emblematic, often familial, ring, often bearing a coat of arms, fit for use to imprint a wax seal on documents etc.
Sovereign ring	A typically large, gold ring, set with a gold sovereign as its decorative feature.
Thumb ring	This largest of finger rings is worn on the thumb primarily for fashion, but is also worn as a symbol of will power or internal energy, sexuality, and other beliefs or attitudes.
Watch ring	A small analogue or digital watch to be worn around a finger.
Wedding ring	A ring presented in many marriage ceremonies to signify marital commitment. Originally worn only by the woman, it is now common for both spouses to wear such a ring.

Notable individual rings

• The bearer of the Iffland-Ring disposes the ring by will to someone whom he regards as the most significant German-speaking actor.
• Hans-Reinhart-Ring
• The Ring of the Fisherman, the signet ring of the Pope.

Other types

• Arm rings.
• Neck rings.
• Toe rings are smaller rings worn on any of the toes.

See also

• Ring size
• ring finger
• Iron Ring
• torc, or neck ring
• bangle

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Finger rings

• "Ring". Fashion, Jewellery & Accessories. Victoria and Albert Museum. http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/design-a-ring/. Retrieved 2008-07-01. 

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Common misspelling(s) of ringing

• rininging