touch-tone

or touch·tone

[ tuhch-tohn ]

/ ˈtʌtʃˌtoʊn /

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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.

QUIZ

SHALL WE PLAY A "SHALL" VS. "SHOULD" CHALLENGE?

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Question 1 of 6

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shall

should

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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