Back – at or near last place in a change.

Back bells – the heavier bells (so tend to limit the speed).

Backstroke – The part of a bell's cycle started by pulling on the tail end (rope end) in the tower, or with the bells raised in hand; also: the position at which the back bells come into rounds order at backstroke.

Baldrick – the leather lined metal strap from which the clappers used to be hung.

Band – a group of ringers for a given set of bells (or for a special purpose, e.g., a "peal band")

Bearings – the load-bearing assembly on which the headstock (and so the whole bell) turns about its gudgeon pins. Modern hanging means the bell is hung on ball bearings, but were traditionally plain bearings.

Bob – the commonest type of call in most methods or a class of plain method (in which either dodging takes place or some bells are not just hunting or place making); also can mean (usually called the "Bob place") the appropriate point in the method (e.g. a lead end) to modify the sequence of changes.

Bristol start – starting to raise in peal by adding an extra bell each time.

Bump the stay – allow the bell to swing over the balance, out of control, so the stay pushes the slider to its limit, stopping the bell.

Canons – loops cast onto older bells' crowns.

Cinques – (pronounced "sinks") methods for working eleven bells (possibly with a twelfth covering) the name deriving from the practice of swapping five pairs of bells.

Clapper – the metal (usually cast iron) rod/hammer hung from a pivot below the crown of the bell, that strikes the soundbow of the bell when the bell stops moving.

Closed leads (also called cartwheeling) – handstroke changes follow backstroke changes with no handstroke gap (unlike open leads)

Come round – return to rounds to end a touch (e.g. "come round at handstroke), or produce rounds prematurely.

Cover – a bell (e.g. tenor) ringing at the end of every row, while the other bells ring a method.

Dodge – Changing direction for one stroke in bell ringing (although strictly a dodge is taking a retrograde step in the middle of a portion of hunting). Dodging practice is an exercise where two bells exchange places on every stroke, sometimes taught to aid learners change from call changes to plain hunt.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Doubles – a method with five working bells, possibly with a sixth covering.

Down – EITHER: when the bells are hanging with the mouth lowermost position, OR: moving towards the front (as in "hunting down").

Handstroke – the stroke when the sally is gripped.

Hunt – move one place at a time up or down (see plain hunt, treble bob hunt, etc.).

Firing- From rounds all the bells are rung at once for a few strokes before returning to rounds. Done at special occasions such as weddings or New Year.

Front – at or near the start of a row.

Front bells – the smaller bells which are rung first in rounds.

Garter hole – the hole in the wheel where the rope passes through.

Method – an agreed/named sequence of changes that forms a round block, See plain course.

Muffling For commemorative services such as funerals, memorial services and Remembrance Sunday, the bells are rung half-muffled with a leather pad on one side of the clapper. Very rarely fully muffled with pads both sides..

Sally – the woollen bulge woven into the rope. It is both an indicator and a help with gripping.

Slider – A device which allows the bell to go over the balance at each end of its swing, but not to over-rotate.

Stay – a device that is attached to the headstock and works in conjunction with the slider.

Tenor – the lowest pitched bell in the tower.

Treble – the highest-pitched bell in the tower.

Up – EITHER: when the bells are raised to the mouth uppermost position, OR: moving towards the back (as in "hunting up").