save by the bell
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.48 in modern English
26
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
2
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
In a boxing or wrestling match or similar competition, to ring the bell which concludes the round and thereby to prevent a competitor who has been knocked down from being counted out by the referee.
Transitive verb
verb
To rescue or favorably assist (someone) by means of a timely interruption or the sudden termination of difficult circumstances.
Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "With 35 seconds left in the fight, the Siberian Rocky landed a lethal right hook that staggered Bradley and forced him to take a knee following a few more hard blows, thus saving Bradley by the bell."
- "The waitress brought the coffee about this time, saving me by the bell, as it were."
- "Fortunately the appearance of the rash marks the beginning of a sudden end to the disease, establishes a diagnosis, saves you by the bell, satisfies the child's parents, and baby has had just one more kind of measles."
- "Remember that God gives the strength to go on when you would rather collapse. He can save you by the bell!"
- "She felt as though his departure for Europe was saving her by the bell."
- "Today's entry got to me just in the nick of time. Saving me by the bell is Reilly Campbell."