ringing tone

British

noun

a sequence of pairs of tones heard by the dialler on a telephone when the number dialled is ringing Compare engaged tone dialling tone

"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.

Perhaps after years of laser-precision bel canto, Brownlee has cultivated an elegant propriety, staying true to rhythm and seldom straying from a polished, ringing tone.

From New York Times • Mar. 24, 2023

Olga called Nicole immediately, but there was no ringing tone.

From BBC • Jun. 23, 2019

One of Kholodenko’s two most notable qualities as a pianist are his stunning ringing tone, which allows him to leave notes hanging in the air longer than the physics of acoustics would suggest is possible.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2016

Tenor Carlo Barricelli as Calaf came to grief on one high note, but otherwise he sang expressively and with a fair amount of ringing tone.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 11, 2012

He rolled them over with a peavey and pounded them with the flat face of a splitting maul, testing for the ringing tone that indicated soundness.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

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