peal

/pil/

/pil/

Other forms: peals; pealed

A peal is a loud or deep sound that is usually repeated. So, you may hear a peal of laughter or a peal of thunder, but you wouldn't refer to a solitary scream as a peal.

You'll often notice the regular, repeated peal of church bells — in fact, they sometimes peal on the hour. In the fourteenth century, a peal referred specifically to church bells, in fact. The word is a shortened version of appeal, from the idea that the bells "summon" or "call " worshippers to the church. In contemporary times, peal is more often used to describe more commonly repeated sounds — like barking, laughter or thunder.

Definitions of peal

1. noun

   a deep prolonged sound (as of thunder or large bells)
   synonyms: pealing, roll, rolling

   type of:

   sound

   the sudden occurrence of an audible event
2. verb

   ring recurrently
   “bells were pealing”

   type of:

   ring

   sound loudly and sonorously
3. verb

   sound loudly and sonorously
   synonyms: ring

   types:

   ding, dingdong, dong

   go `ding dong', like a bell

   tintinnabulate

   ring or sound like a small bell

   knell

   ring as in announcing death

   type of:

   go, sound

   make a certain noise or sound