ringer

6 definitions • 12 examples

a thing that makes a ringing sound, especially part of a mobile phone:

Turn off the phone's ringer by flipping the switch.

Other buttons include a volume rocker on the left, with a slider that turns the ringer off.

someone who rings a bell:

The church ringers meet for practice every Wednesday evening.

The doorbell ringer turned out to be my aunt.

a person or horse that takes part in a competition, game, or race illegally or unfairly, for example by someone pretending that they are another person or horse:

They had a ringer on their team - someone who usually plays for a team in a different league.

The under-9 team's star player was a ringer: he was two years older than the other kids.

Ringer scandals, in which one horse runs under the name of another, have a long and colourful history.

in various games, a ring or horseshoe that lands around the target that is being aimed at:

He said the game was very stressful because you felt you needed to throw a ringer every time.

The top-ranked player entering the event throws a ringer on an average of 88 percent of his tosses.

someone or something that looks very similar to someone or something else:

ringer for With his top hat and red nose, he is a ringer for W. C. Fields.

His drawing of a circle of dancing women is a ringer for Matisse's Dancers.

a vehicle that has been given a false registration number:

The police officer was told the van was a ringer, as the owner and his van were still at home.