direct-dial

American  

[dih-rekt-dahy-uhl, -dahyl, dahy-rekt-] / dɪˈrɛktˈdaɪ əl, -ˈdaɪl, daɪˈrɛkt- /

Or direct dial

verb (used with or without object)

1. to make a telephone call outside the local area without the assistance of an operator.

---

adjective

1. being a telephone or telephone system enabling long-distance calls to be direct-dialed.

2. of or relating to direct dialing.

Etymology

Origin of direct-dial

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

direct-dial

In 1983, the last full-fledged hand-cranked telephone system in the United States went out of service as 440 telephone customers in Bryant Pond, Maine, were switched over to direct-dial service.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 11, 2020

She laughs: "Because you're the one who has the direct-dial phone to the White House."

From BusinessWeek ● May 27, 2010

The Soviets claim that their modern direct-dial equipment has been transferred only temporarily from international service, where telephone usage is relatively light, to the domestic network.

From Time Magazine Archive

What could be more useful for, say, an insurance salesman or an executive recruiter than a major corporation's internal telephone book, complete with direct-dial access and perhaps even everyone's home number?

From Time Magazine Archive

Malone, realizing that with direct-dial phones Boyd had no idea where he was actually calling from, kept wisely quiet.

From Occasion for Disaster by Garrett, Randall