Antonyms for ring up


Grammar : Verb
Spell : ring
Phonetic Transcription : rɪŋ


Definition of ring up

Origin :
  • "circular band," Old English hring "small circlet, especially one of metal for wearing on the finger or as part of a mail coat; anything circular," from Proto-Germanic *khrengaz (cf. Old Norse hringr, Old Frisian hring, Danish, Swedish, Dutch ring, Old High German hring, German Ring), literally "something curved," from PIE *skrengh- nasalized form of (s)kregh-, from root *(s)ker- "to turn, bend," with wide-ranging derivative senses (cf. Latin curvus "bent, curved," crispus "curly;" Old Church Slavonic kragu "circle," and perhaps Greek kirkos "ring," koronos "curved").
  • Other Old English senses were "circular group of persons," also "horizon." Meaning "place for prize fight and wrestling bouts" (early 14c.) is from the space in a circle of bystanders in the midst of which such contests once were held, "... a circle formed for boxers, wrestlers, and cudgel players, by a man styled Vinegar; who, with his hat before his eyes, goes round the circle, striking at random with his whip to prevent the populace from crowding in" [Grose, 1788]. Meaning "combination of interested persons" is from 1829. Of trees, from 1670s; fairy ring is from 1620s. Ring finger is Old English hringfingr, a compound found in other Germanic languages. To run rings round (someone) "be superior to" is from 1891.
  • Nursery rhyme ring a ring a rosie is attested in an American form (with a different ending) from c.1790. "The belief that the rhyme originated with the Great Plague is now almost universal, but has no evidence to support it and is almost certainly nonsense" ["Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore"]. This proposal of connection dates only to the late 1960s.
  • As in telephone : verb communicate through telephone system
  • As in total : verb add up
  • As in call : verb arrange meeting
  • As in phone : verb telephone
  • As in communicate : verb give or exchange information, ideas
Example sentences :
  • It was useless arguing, and I had to ring up the adjutant again.
  • Extract from : « Pushed and the Return Push » by George Herbert Fosdike Nichols, (AKA Quex)
  • My key hangs on this hook; then after I ring up, it hangs here.
  • Extract from : « Working With the Working Woman » by Cornelia Stratton Parker
  • Except when shopping, he made a strict rule to ring up only the most superior.
  • Extract from : « The Rich Little Poor Boy » by Eleanor Gates
  • The lodge-keeper, stammering: "I'll ring up the house," dashed out of the room.
  • Extract from : « The Triumph Of Night » by Edith Wharton
  • Restless and ill at ease, he decided to ring up The Towers, Roxton.
  • Extract from : « The Strange Case of Mortimer Fenley » by Louis Tracy
  • I went and sat on the arm of her chair and held the ring up.
  • Extract from : « Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 146, April 22, 1914 » by Various
  • Go and ring up to the grocer, not to forget to send the things, will you, dear?
  • Extract from : « The Limit » by Ada Leverson
  • I can ring up the battery in a second when the 'Uns come, as they ought to in a minute.
  • Extract from : « Mud and Khaki » by Vernon Bartlett
  • But proof's what it's best to have before you ring up the curtain.
  • Extract from : « T. Tembarom » by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  • Has Mr. Furneaux used the telephone, or did any one ring up?
  • Extract from : « Number Seventeen » by Louis Tracy

Synonyms for ring up

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019