Dictionary:

ring¹

  (rĭng)

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.]

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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.

For more information on ring, visit Britannica.com.

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

A finger ring is a band worn as 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.

There are various methods for determining proper ring size. Some of the largest rings in the world are made for the winning team of the Super Bowl. The unofficial record for the largest championship ring ever presented to a professional sports team belongs to the 2003 World Series champions Florida Marlins, with a weight of over 110 grams and with over 240 stones.

Rings can be worn on any finger, even on toes. In Western culture, the traditional "ring finger" for the wearing of an engagement or wedding ring is the fourth finger of the left hand (with the thumb counting as finger number one). The signet ring, a ring designating nobility, is commonly worn on the little (fifth) finger of the right or left hand, depending on nationality.

Cracked Ring

In some countries in Eastern europe it is believed that if a ring cracks some important event will happen or has happened.

Special types of finger ring

Ring	Usage
Aqiq ring	A carnelian 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 sports 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 precious or semiprecious stones.
Ecclesiastical ring	A ring worn by clerics and other religious persons, notably a Bishop's ring worn by an (arch)bishop of the Roman Catholic, Anglican and other Christian churches.
Engagement ring	A traditional ring worn by a woman to indicate her engagement to be married.
Engineer's 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.
Magic ring	A fictitious ornament that appears frequently in fantasy stories and fairy tales.
Masonic Ring	A ring used by members of the Masonic Order: the design may vary in style but always includes the Square and Compass, and very often the letter ‘ G’.
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.
Posie Ring	A ring with a short inscription on its outer surface.
Promise ring	A small, inexpensive ring given to a boyfriend or girlfriend, to promise not to court a rival.
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.
Pillbox ring or Poisoners 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.
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.
Story of O ring	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.
Watch ring	A small analog 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 who he regards as the most significant German-speaking actor.
• Hans-Reinhart-Ring
• The Ring of the Fisherman, the signet ring of the Pope.
• The X-Ring, school ring of St. Francis Xavier University of Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Widely recognized across the world, as much as the Pope's ring or the Super Bowl ring, according to a Jeopardy Question.
• The One Ring, one of the Rings of Power that a hobbit Frodo Baggins had to take to Mount Doom in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings.

See also

• ring (general article)
• ring finger
• Iron Ring
• arm ring
• torc, or neck ring
• bangle

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Finger rings

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Common misspelling(s) of ringing

• rininging