to dial

Examples

• All

• Please dial your password and press pound.

  Sideways (2004)

• Then he asked, "Can you use your computer to dial up the one downtown?"

  Fiction book (1990)

• I left the computer in answer mode so you could dial in from home if you wanted to.

  Fiction book (1990)

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

  Premonition (2007)

• I pick up the phone and dial my divorced wife's number in Seattle.

  Fiction book (1991)

• If this is a true medical emergency, please hang up and dial 911.

  He's Watching (2022)

• Somebody dial 911!

  Armageddon (1998)

• Atlanta, August 25: Cox reaches for the phone and dials David E. Swayne.

  Academic text (1998)

• The hospital-based CPR system then automatically dials the authorized user's telephone number to reestablish the connection.

  Academic text (1996)

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

Synonyms

R

to ring

vsto dial

• UK

294 1.0

To call someone on the phone

is about entering numbers or settings, not trying to reach someone by voice

C

to call up

vsto dial

209 2.5

To phone someone

is about entering numbers or settings rather than contacting a person

M

to make a call

vsto dial

93 1.0

To phone someone

is about entering numbers or settings by turning controls or pressing buttons

T

to telephone

vsto dial

20 1.0

To call someone to speak with them

is about entering numbers or settings rather than maintaining voice communication

G

to give a ring

vsto dial

1 2.2

To phone someone

is about entering numbers or settings rather than briefly contacting someone

Idioms

D

don't touch that dial

• Archaic

3 9.3

To tell viewers or listeners to keep watching and not change the channel during a break in the show

T

to touch that dial

• Archaic

1 9.1

Tell someone not to change the radio or television channel before a show returns

Phrasal Verbs

D

to dial 911

• US

28 2.0

To call emergency help in the United States by phone using the number 911

D

to dial back

14 4.1

Make something, like a taste, sound, or plan, less strong

D

to dial in

8 3.9

To connect to a meeting by entering a code, or to set something exactly

D

to dial down

4 4.1

To make a feeling, sound, or action less strong

P

to pocket-dial

• Informal

1 4.1

Accidentally call someone because your phone presses buttons in your pocket or bag

D

to dial 999

• UK

1 2.3

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

D

to dial out

5.1

To leave a phone or video call by ending your connection

D

to dial towards

7.2

To move focus slowly toward a clear goal

R

to reset the dial

4.5

Move a control back to its original position

S

to shift the dial

7.2

To make a clear change in a situation or result

Compounds

D

dial-up

• Archaic

4 3.8

A connection that uses a telephone line to access the internet and is usually very slow

D

dial phone

• Archaic

1 6.8

A telephone with a round wheel you turn to enter numbers

D

dial telephone

• Archaic

1 4.9

A phone with a round dial you turn to call someone

D

dial-up

• Archaic

1 3.5

Relating to an internet connection that uses a telephone line and is usually very slow

C

clock dial

3.1

The face of a clock that shows the time with numbers and hands

P

pocket dial

4.8

A call someone makes by mistake when their phone's buttons are pressed in a pocket

T

telephone dial

• Archaic

6.4

A round disc on an old phone that you turn to choose a number

How Automatic

to autodial

• Specialized

4.8

to dial

378 1.7

Surface Forms

Etymology