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Glite Dictionary
to dial towards

to dial towards

7.2
To move focus slowly toward a clear goal
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : orientar hacia
  • Our marketing strategy needs to dial towards younger consumers to stay relevant.

Examples

  • In light of new evidence, the committee will dial towards a revised set of recommendations.

  • As the project faces delays, they decided to dial towards efficiency improvements.

  • She dials towards her goals every day.

  • Can you dial towards a more positive outcome?

  • To improve customer satisfaction, the team will dials towards better service practices.

  • As they adapt to changing trends, the business needs to dials towards sustainable solutions.

  • In their next meeting, they plan to dials towards innovative ideas that enhance productivity.

Antonyms

to distract
513 2.1

To make someone stop paying attention to what they are doing or thinking about

to divert
94 4.2

To cause something like traffic or a river to go a different way

How Focused

to target
821 2.9
to steer
224 1.6
to dial towards
7.2
to shift
683 2.0
to wander
379 1.3

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

dial + toward

The phrase combines the concrete sense of 'dial' (turn a control) with 'toward' (in the direction of), so a learner can plausibly infer a meaning of adjusting or shifting something in the direction of a goal. However, the use of 'dial' metaphorically for shifting attention or strategy is an abstract extension and depends on recognizing 'dial' as a verb, so the relation is partly predictable but not fully transparent to an average B1 learner.

Etymology

The phrasal verb dial towards comes from the simple image of turning a dial on a radio or control toward a mark to find a station or setting. So, to dial towards something means to slowly change your focus or actions to 'aim' at that goal.