rung

Noun

rung (plural rungs)

1. A crosspiece forming a step of a ladder; a round.
2. A crosspiece between legs of a chair.
3. (nautical, dated) A floor timber in a ship.
4. (dated) One of the stakes of a cart; a spar; a heavy staff.
5. (engineering, dated) One of the radial handles projecting from the rim of a steering wheel.
6. (engineering, dated) One of the pins or trundles of a lantern wheel.

Verb

rung

1. past participle of ring (only in senses related to a bell)
2. (chiefly dialectal) simple past tense of ring
   • 1723, Charles Walker, Memoirs of Sally Salisbury, VI:

     With ecchoing Shouts the vaulted Chamber rung, / Belle Chuck was now the TOAST of ev'ry Tongue.

   • 1906, (Please provide the book title or journal name), page 229:

     Mr. Seibels, in his testimony, said I rung him up to see about labels. He is very much mistaken. I rung him up to see about bottles.

   • 1996, Peter Golenbock, Wrigleyville: A Magical History Tour of the Chicago Cubs, page 435:

     So they rung him up, and the next day he came to me and wanted to know where that pitch was.

   • 2008, Dean Kuipers, Burning Rainbow Farm: How a Stoner Utopia Went Up in Smoke, page 70:

     "I just rung him up, told him I was looking for an apartment and some work and got both of them the same day," Moe said.

Usage notes

Rang and rung are incorrect for the past of ring in the sense of encircle, where ringed is used instead.

Rung as a simple past is usually considered incorrect.

Derived terms