A peal is a loud, prolonged sound that rings out, usually from bells or thunder. When church bells ring out in celebration, they create a joyful peal that can be heard across town. During a thunderstorm, you might hear a tremendous peal of thunder that makes the windows rattle.

The word captures something important about the sound: it's loud, sustained, and resonant, often echoing and reverberating. When bells ring continuously in a flowing sequence, creating a prolonged, rolling sound, that's a peal. In England, bell ringers practice the art of change ringing, where they ring multiple bells in mathematical patterns that create elaborate peals lasting hours.

The word can also describe laughter. When something strikes people as hilariously funny, they might erupt in peals of laughter, meaning loud, sustained laughter that rings out clearly. Just like bells, this kind of laughter is impossible to miss.