dial tone
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of dial tone
First recorded in 1890–95
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.
Her mom, Paula James-Martinez, had to explain what a dial tone was.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
Nearby, museum archivist Claire Violet is on her back beneath a table, trying to figure out why she can’t get a dial tone from a phone at her work station.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 26, 2024
One source said calls being redirected to other numbers and connecting without a dial tone were among the signs of interception.
From Reuters • May 18, 2021
In any case, by the time she worked the receiver to her ear, there was only a dial tone.
From Washington Post • Sep. 30, 2019
I pick up and hear the dial tone, dial the 800 number for the phone card...and then stop.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
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.
