dialling tone

US and Canadian dial tone

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noun

a continuous sound, either purring or high-pitched, heard over a telephone indicating that a number can be dialledCompare ringing tone, engaged tone

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Words nearby dialling tone

dialer, dial gauge, diallage, dialled in, dialling code, dialling tone, diallyl sulfide, dialog box, dialogic, dialogism, dialogist

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

How to use dialling tone in a sentence

Music is a huge part of the tone of Black Dynamite overall—going back to the original 2009 movie on which the series is based.
‘Black Dynamite’ Presents Police Brutality: The Musical|Stereo Williams|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Although Huckabee's condescending tone - like that of an elementary school history teacher - makes it difficult to take seriously.
Huckabee 2016: Bend Over and Take It Like a Prisoner!|Olivia Nuzzi|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“Call me when the plane leaves the ground,” she said, in a tone that implied she knew her husband well.
Mario Cuomo, a Frustrating Hero to Democrats, Is Dead at 82|Eleanor Clift|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He has struck a promising tone these last few days with his rhetoric about trying to “see each other.”
Memo to Cops: Criticisms Aren’t Attacks|Michael Tomasky|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Ramos would help set the tone of the day when he greeted the arriving students outside the school.
In The Shadow of Murdered Cops|Michael Daly|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That which is called nasality is caused by the failure of the tone to reach freely the anterior cavities of the nares.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
Drone: the largest tube of a bag-pipe, giving forth a dull heavy tone.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
And once more, she found herself desiring to be like Janet--not only in appearance, but in soft manner and tone.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
What the ear hears is the fundamental pitch only; the overtones harmonize with the primary or fundamental tone, and enrich it.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
This may be done by taking the humming tone and bringing to bear upon it a strong pressure of energy.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick