Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

dial tone

American  

noun

  1. (in a telephone) a tone that indicates the line is ready for dialing.

Etymology

Origin of dial tone

First recorded in 1890–95

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.