touch-tone

or touch·tone

[ tuhch-tohn ]

/ ˈtʌtʃˌtoʊn /

Save This Word!

adjective

of or relating to a tone-dialing system or a push-button phone operating on tone dialing.

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter) a tone-dialing system.

a telephone utilizing this system.

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON THE 12 TYPES OF VERB TENSES!

Loosen up your grammar muscles because it’s time to test your knowledge on verb tenses!

Question 1 of 6

The verb tenses can be split into which 3 primary categories?

action, linking, and helping

dynamic, static, and auxiliary

past, present, and future

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar Coach

Improve Your Writing

Origin of touch-tone

An Americanism dating back to 1955–60

Words nearby touch-tone

touchscreen, touch-sensitive, touchstone, touch system, touch-tackle, touch-tone, touch-type, touch-up, touchwood, touchy, touchy-feely

How to use touch-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
The Goliath wouldn't answer; the Dublin said the force was coming off, and we could not get into touch with the soldiers at all.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
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

British Dictionary definitions for touch-tone

touch-tone

adjective

of or relating to a telephone dialling system in which each of the buttons pressed generates a tone of a different pitch, which is transmitted to the exchange

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