bell character

noun

A control character with the value seven (Unicode code point U+0007, ASCII 0x07), originally used to ring a bell on telegraphy equipment to alert the operator to an incoming message; on modern computers, it generally causes a beep or buzzer to sound when printed to a terminal window, or, as a silent visual alternative, may cause the terminal window to flash briefly.

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Meanings

nounbell character (plural bell characters)

plural bell characters · alternative symbol ␇ · alternative BEL

  1. computingA control character with the value seven (Unicode code point U+0007, ASCII 0x07), originally used to ring a bell on telegraphy equipment to alert the operator to an incoming message; on modern computers, it generally causes a beep or buzzer to sound when printed to a terminal window, or, as a silent visual alternative, may cause the terminal window to flash briefly.

Origin

From bell + character.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

bell character. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bell%20character

MLA

“bell character.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bell%20character. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bell character,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bell%20character.

Source: bell character on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.