Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

bell the cat

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.37 in modern English

Syllables
bel-l the -cat
IPA
17
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To undertake a dangerous action in the service of a group.

Etymology

From a medieval fable in which mice agree that a bell should be put round a cat's neck so they will always be warned of its arrival, but cannot agree who should undertake the dangerous task.

Inflected Forms

bells the cat (present, singular) belling the cat (participle, present) belled the cat (participle, past) belled the cat (past)

Phrases

take one for the team step into the breach fall on a grenade

Frequently Paired Words

take one for the team step into the breach fall on a grenade

Questions

What does bell the cat mean?
To undertake a dangerous action in the service of a group.
Where does bell the cat come from?
From a medieval fable in which mice agree that a bell should be put round a cat's neck so they will always be warned of its arrival, but cannot agree who should undertake the dangerous task.

How to pronounce bell the cat

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “bell the cat”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “bell the cat”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “bell the cat” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.