Meanings
nounjingle bell (plural jingle bells)
plural jingle bells
- A small, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper, which is attached to a horse's harness as a signal, or (music) used as a musical instrument.
Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock / Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring
1957 November 28, Joe Beal, Jim Boothe [disputed], “Jingle Bell Rock”performed by Bobby Helms, Decca Records1 more example
Jingle bells, jingle bells, / Jingle all the way. / Oh! what fun it is to ride / In a one-horse open sleigh.
1857 September 15, James Lord Pierpont, “The One Horse Open Sleigh”Synonyms: cascabel, sleigh bell
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA small, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper, which is attached to a horse's harness as a signal, or (music) used as a musical instrument.
Similar
Also see
Origin
From jingle (“sound of metal, etc., clattering against itself”, attributively) + bell.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic جرس زلق
- جرس زلقsmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Basque kaskabilo
- kaskabilosmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Catalan cascavell, picarol
- cascavellsmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
- picarolsmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Chinese Mandarin 馬鈴 /马铃
- 馬鈴 /马铃 (mǎlíng)small, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Czech rolnička
- rolničkasmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Danish bjælde
- bjældesmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Dutch schelringen
- schelringensmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Esperanto tintilo
- tintilosmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Estonian kuljus
- kuljussmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Finnish kulkunen, tiuku
- kulkunensmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
- tiukusmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
French grelot
- grelotsmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
German Glöckchen, Schelle
- Glöckchensmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
- Schellesmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Hebrew פעמוני מזחלת
- פעמוני מזחלתsmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Hungarian száncsengő
- száncsengősmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Icelandic bjalla
- bjallasmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Indonesian gongseng
- gongsengsmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Irish clingchlog
- clingchlogsmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Japanese スレイベル, 鈴
- スレイベル (surei beru)small, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
- 鈴 (suzu)small, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Korean 방울
- 방울 (bang'ul)small, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Norwegian Bokmål dombjelle
- dombjellesmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Persian زنگ دستی
- زنگ دستیsmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Polish bubieniec
- bubieniecsmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Portuguese guizo
- guizosmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Russian бубенец
- бубенец (bubenec)small, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Spanish cascabel, cascabillo
- cascabelsmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
- cascabillosmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Swedish bjällra
- bjällrasmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Tagalog baimbi
- baimbismall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Ukrainian бубоне́ць
- бубоне́ць (bubonécʹ)small, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Welsh cloch dincial
- cloch dincialsmall, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper
Cite this entry
APA
jingle bell. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jingle%20bell
MLA
“jingle bell.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jingle%20bell. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jingle bell,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jingle%20bell.
Source: jingle bell on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.