dial down

British

verb

(adverb) to reduce or become reduced

to dial down an argument

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

So Wall Street had plenty of time to dial down its profit estimates.

From MarketWatch • May 2, 2026

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and others appealed to Trump to walk back the tariffs and dial down the trade war, to get the minerals flowing again, according to officials familiar with the matter.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

If the meeting can dial down the temperature, investors’ focus will shift to a meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping next Thursday in South Korea.

From Barron's • Oct. 23, 2025

Streaming services are now required to turn the dial down on commercial advertisements that blare louder than providers’ content under legislation signed into law Monday by California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 7, 2025

I placed the bread in the toaster and turned the dial down to the lightest setting.

From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin

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