Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to dial 911

to dial 911

28 2.0
To call emergency help in the United States by phone using the number 911
  • phrasal verb
  • /daɪəl naɪn wʌn wʌn/
  • US
translation icon : llamar al 911
  • If this is an emergency, please dial 911.
  • use a phone to dial 911
  • use a cell phone to dial 911
  • call to dial 911

Examples

  • All she has to do is dial 911 and press two for Spanish.

    Spanglish (2004)

  • Then she picked up the phone and prepared to dial 911.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • And then dial 911 just like you did before.

    Time Warrior (2013)

  • If this is an emergency, please hang up and dial 911.

    Premonition (2007)

  • If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or dial 911 right away.

    Blog text (33)

  • Then she ran into the kitchen and dialed 911.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • And then I saw that one of the men had a gun under his shirt, so I immediately got my phone and dialed 911.

    The Night Crew (2015)

  • Jeff crosses the room, snatches up a phone, and dials 911.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • In the hallway, as I dialed 911, my hands were shaking and my breathing rattled in my ears.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • If this is an emergency, please dial 911.

Synonyms

to call 911
vsto dial 911
  • US
178 1.6

Phone 911 in the United States and Canada to get immediate help from police, fire, or ambulance

is focused on the United States rather than including Canada
to dial 999
vsto dial 911
  • UK
1 2.3

Call for police, fire, or ambulance help by phone in the UK

is specific to the United States rather than the United Kingdom
to call 999
vsto dial 911
  • UK
1 2.5

Phone the emergency number 999 in the United Kingdom

is used for emergencies in the United States rather than the United Kingdom

Surface Forms

dial 911 infinitive
dialing 911 present participle
dials 911 third person singular
dialed 911 past
dialed 911 past participle

Morphology

dial + 911

The verb 'dial' (to call by entering numbers) combined with '911' (the emergency number) yields a directly compositional meaning: call emergency services by entering that number. Although the specific number is regionally US-specific and learners must know that 911 denotes emergency services, the pattern 'dial + emergency number = call emergency services' is transparent and cross-linguistically common.

Etymology

Dial 911 comes from the literal act of using a phone and 'dialing' the numbers, together with the easy-to-remember emergency number 911 that people were taught to call in danger. So today dial 911 means 'to call emergency services' when you need urgent help.