Definition of "tocsin" [toc•sin]

• An alarm sounded on a bell. (noun)
• A bell used to sound an alarm. (noun)
• A warning; an omen. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "That night the sound of the tocsin was again heard, mingling with the booming of cannon."
• "His purpose was seen by us at once, and seen with fresh alarm; for, if he had been able to reach the great bell, the terrible 'tocsin' would have aroused the country for ten leagues round, and have poured a hundred thousand armed peasantry into Paris."
• "The tocsin is the signal for our people in the salient. ""