dial-up

American  

[dahy-uhl-uhp, dahyl-] / ˈdaɪ əlˌʌp, ˈdaɪl- /

adjective

Computers.

1. relating to or denoting a type of computer data transmission encoded in audio format and transmitted through a telephone call to an internet service provider.

   A dial-up connection to the internet is too slow to play most online video games.

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Etymology

Origin of dial-up

First recorded in 1960–65; adjective use of verb phrase dial up

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dial-up

On the variable cost side of the coin, spending on graphics processing units and data centers, as well as massive electricity bills, are sending tech companies’ capital-light models the way of the dial-up modem.

From Barron's ● Mar. 5, 2026

That era was capped by Time Warner’s ill-fated sale in the early 2000s to dial-up internet service provider AOL — a disastrous union that plundered the value of Warner’s prestigious properties.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 1, 2025

The company stopped its dial-up internet service last month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2025

The rolling green grassy hills and blue sky of our Windows XP background greeted me, and I’d feel feverish waiting as the AOL dial-up internet made its torturously slow connection.

From Slate ● Aug. 12, 2025

One can imagine a race of advanced space aliens who could compress a portion of this network into a zipped file of bits and hum it to each other like two dial-up modems.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker