Chime with! Chime in! Chime out! – How are they used?

While browsing the net recently, I started to wonder on the currency these three phrases have acquired. Be it in formal or less formal contexts, editors, actors and various stars and celebrities chime in with this or that idea leaving one puzzled about the actual meaning of this phrasal verb.

The phrasal verb “chime with” used in both formal and informal contexts seems to be more common in British English than in American English and you can see it with the particle “in”, as in He chimed in with their opinion. or without She chimed with the others. However, when the preposition “in” is added, it usually implies that someone is joining a conversation or a discussion, whereas when it is omitted, it usually suggests that someone or something is already in harmony or agreement with a plan, idea or mood, e.g.

The judge’s verdict chimed with the jury’s decision.

The colors of the painting chimed with the mood of the room.

She didn’t chime with his sense of humor, so they broke up.

The melody of the song chimed with the lyrics.


Therefore, the phrase “chime in” actually means to interrupt but unlike such phrasal verbs as “cut in, break in and butt in,” it has a positive meaning, similarly to “chip in.” It conveys the idea of somebody interrupting in order to contribute something in support of the argument like in the example:

They chimed in with a useful tip.

She always chimed in with a witty remark whenever there was a pause in the conversation.

He chimed in with a suggestion that we should all go to the movies.


On the other hand, “chime out” means literally the loud ringing of bells, or metaphorically, giving a signal, informing somebody about something, similar to “cry out!”.

Here is a short dialogue to illustrate the use of all three phrasal verbs:

Student A: Hey, have you met our new English professor yet?
Student B: Yeah, I had a class with him yesterday. He seems nice and knowledgeable.
Student A: What did you talk about in class?
Student B: Well, he asked us about our opinions on some current issues, like climate change and social media. He wanted us to practice expressing our views and supporting them with arguments.
Student A: That sounds interesting. Did that chime in with your views?
Student B: Yeah, it did. I said that I think climate change is a serious problem that needs urgent action from everyone. He agreed with me and said that my opinion chimed with the latest scientific evidence.
Student A: Good for you. I’m glad he’s open to different perspectives and doesn’t impose his own thinking on us.
Student B: Me too. He also encouraged us to chime out if we had any questions or doubts. He said he wanted to create a friendly and interactive atmosphere in class.
Student A: That’s nice. I can’t wait to meet him in class tomorrow. Hope we can learn a lot from him and improve our English skills.
Student B: So do I. He seems like a good teacher and a nice person.


And you? What do you chime in with? Let me know in the comments.



CHIME IN Phrasal Verb – UsingEnglish.com.
https://www.usingenglish.com/reference/phrasal-verbs/chime.html.
chime-with phrasal verb – Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries.
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/chime-with.
Chime – Idioms by The Free Dictionary. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/chime.

Image by senivpetro on Freepik

Opublikowano

w

przez

admin

Tagi:

, , , , , , ,

Komentarze

  1. Awatar mends
    mends

    Yoᥙ could certaіnly see your enthusiasm within the article
    you write. The arena hopes for more passionate writers
    such as you who aren’t afraid to say how they believe.
    At all timeѕ follߋw your heart.

    Odpowiedz
    1. Awatar admin
      admin

      Thx:)

      Odpowiedz
  2. Awatar Lila
    Lila

    hey there andd thank you for your info –
    I’ve certainly picked up something new from right here.
    I did however expertise some technical points uxing this website, as I
    experienced to reeload the web sijte lots of times previous to I
    could get it to load properly. I had been wondering if your web hosting is OK?
    Not that I am complaining, but sluggish loading instances times will sometimes affect your plaement in google and could damage your quality score if advertising and marketiing with Adwords.
    Anyway I am addin this RSS to my e-mail and can look out for much
    moe of your respective fascinating content. Ensure that you
    update this again very soon. https://www.waste-ndc.pro/community/profile/tressa79906983/

    Odpowiedz
    1. Awatar admin
      admin

      Thx:)

      Odpowiedz
  3. Awatar Szukarki
    Szukarki

    Treść jest klarowna, dobrze zorganizowana i pełna przydatnych wskazówek. Autor doskonale wyjaśnia kluczowe zagadnienia. Może warto by dodać więcej przykładów praktycznych. Pomimo tego, tekst jest niezwykle edukacyjny i inspirujący.

    Odpowiedz
    1. Awatar admin
      admin

      Thx:)

      Odpowiedz
  4. Awatar https://ukrain-Forum.biz.ua/
    https://ukrain-Forum.biz.ua/

    I’m really inspired together with your writijg abilities and also with
    the format oon your weblog. Is this a paid subject matter
    or did youu customize it yourself? Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it’s
    rwre to look a nice blog like this one today.. https://ukrain-Forum.biz.ua/

    Odpowiedz
  5. Awatar https://ukrain-Forum.Biz.ua/
    https://ukrain-Forum.Biz.ua/

    Hello there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before bbut after lookng at a few of the articles I realized it’s new to me.
    Nonetheless, I’m certainly happy I stumbled upon iit and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking back regularly! https://ukrain-Forum.Biz.ua/

    Odpowiedz
    1. Awatar admin
      admin

      Thx:)

      Odpowiedz

Dodaj komentarz

Twój adres e-mail nie zostanie opublikowany. Wymagane pola są oznaczone *