ringtone

American  

[ring-tohn] / ˈrɪŋˌtoʊn /

Or ring tone

1. the sound a cell phone makes when receiving a call or text message.

   Download the most popular rock music ringtones.

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ringtone British  

/ ˈrɪŋˌtəʊn /

noun

1. a musical tune played by a mobile phone when a call is received

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Etymology

Origin of ringtone

First recorded in 1980-85; ring ² + tone

Explanation

A ringtone is the sound your phone makes when someone calls or texts you. Don't be that jerk in the theater who doesn't silence their ringtone before the movie starts! The ringtone of an old-fashioned telephone was produced by an actual bell being rung. Although the sounds made by modern phones vary wildly, from beeps and chirps to animal sounds, classical music, and more, they're all still called ringtones. Today, mobile phones offer an almost infinite variety of tones you can choose to alert you that calls or text messages are coming in. You might decide to go old school and pick a ringing bell as your ringtone!

Example Sentences

Then a Russian folksong is heard, an apparent phone ringtone which went unanswered.

From Barron's • Feb. 2, 2026

I listened to the ringtone as I waited for the person I’d phoned to pick up.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 16, 2025

Angela’s vivid mood swings are a wellspring of entertainment; Tommy associates her phone number with an orchestral ringtone that sounds like a horror movie jump scare.

From Salon • Nov. 16, 2025

Every half hour, Wiley’s “Sweet Home Alabama” ringtone would go off with a resident asking if it was safe to come back.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 10, 2025

On the drive home, I downloaded the main theme song from the movie and made it my phone’s ringtone.

From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks