dial

di·al
D2I1A1L1
UK, US/ˈdaɪ.əl/UK, US[ˈdaɪ.əɫ]

noun

A graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves to show a measurement (such as speed).

“Holonyms: (often holonymous) instrument, gauge”

Similar
telephone dial
OriginMiddle English diall ← Middle French dya ← Latin diālis →
CommonFirst used 19th c.Scrabble 5
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Meanings

dial1

noundial (plural dials)

plural dials

  1. A graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves to show a measurement (such as speed).

    Holonyms: (often holonymous) instrument, gauge

    1 more example

    The dial on the dashboard showed the car was nearly out of gas.

    1. Such a field as part of a clock face; (metonymic) the entire clock face.
  2. A sundial.
  3. A panel on a radio etc showing wavelengths or channels; a knob that is turned to change the wavelength etc.

    Turn the dial to Radio 4: my favourite show is on!

  4. A disk with finger holes on a telephone; used to select the number to be called.

    His hands were too fat to operate the dial on the telephone.

  5. AustraliaUKslangA person's face.First known use 19th c.

    “Well, all I can say is that if yer don't take yer dial outer the road I'll bloomin' well take an' bounce a gibber off yer crust.”

    1918, Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding, page 90
    2 more examples

    At the sound of the old familiar voice he spun around with something of the agility of a cat on hot bricks, and I saw that his dial, usually cheerful, was contorted with anguish, as if he had swallowed a bad oyster.

    1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter IX, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC

    Old Mona Lisa would have looked like a sour lemon beside Angel Day on the rare days she put a smile on her dial, laughing with her friends when some new man was in town.

    2006, Alexis Wright, Carpentaria, Giramondo, published 2012, page 137
  6. A miner's compass.
verbdial (third-person singular simple present dials, present participle (US) dialing or (UK) dialling, simple past and past participle (US) dialed or (UK) dialled)

present singular third person dials · US participle present dialing · UK participle present dialling · US participle past dialed · US past dialed · UK participle past dialled · UK past dialled

  1. transitiveTo control or select something with a dial, or (figuratively) as if with a dial.

    The president has recently dialled down the rhetoric.

    1 more example

    The lead guitarist for the rock band Spinal Tap dialed his amplifier to 11.

  2. transitiveTo select a number on a telephone, regardless of a physical dial.

    In an emergency dial 999.

  3. transitiveTo call (a person or organization) using a telephone.

    On entering the apartment, John discovered the body on the floor. He tried to nudge Jerry’s shoulder with his foot, but he was unresponsive and stiff. John immediately pulled his phone out and dialed emergency services.

    2026 September 8, Nicholas Muhoro, “Isi Etute, 18, Was Charged With Murder After a Tinder Encounter Turned Deadly in 2021. He Was Found Not Guilty”, in Skip Boring, archived from the original on 08 Sep 2026
  4. intransitiveTo use a dial or a telephone.

    Please be careful when dialling.

  5. transitiveTo initiate a connection to a remote computer service such as a database.

    The application failed when attempting to dial the Postgres server, because there were too many open connections.

  6. datedintransitiveTo use a dial-up modem to connect a personal computer to the Internet.

    I always check my guestbook when I dial, just in case anyone saw my Web site.

Dial2

proper nounDial (plural Dials)

plural Dials

  1. A surname.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna disc on a telephone that is rotated a fixed distance for each number called

Similar
telephone dial
Broader
selectorselector switch
Also see
countenancefacemugpunimsundialvisage

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*dyew-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*dyḗws
  3. Proto-Italic*djous
  4. Latindiēs
  5. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  7. Latindiālis
  8. Middle Frenchdya
  9. Middle Englishdiall
  10. Englishdial

The original meaning was 'sundial' and/or 'clock dial'; from Middle English diall, from Middle French dyal, from Latin diālis (“daily, concerning the day”), because of its use in telling the time of day, from Latin diēs (“day”). Compare Spanish dial and día (“day”).

More words from Middle English, Middle French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic مُؤَشِّر, مِزْوَل
  • مُؤَشِّر (muʔaššir)panel on a radio; knob that is turned to change the wavelength
  • مِزْوَل (mizwal)disk with finger holes on a telephone
  • مُدَرَّجَة (mudarraja)disk with finger holes on a telephone
Bulgarian телефо́нна ша́йба, цифербла́т
  • телефо́нна ша́йба (telefónna šájba)disk with finger holes on a telephone
  • цифербла́т (ciferblát)graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves
  • наби́рам (nabíram)to select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
  • пока́звам (pokázvam)tо read (a clock)
Chinese Mandarin 刻度盤 /刻度盘, 撥號盤 /拨号盘
  • 刻度盤 /刻度盘 (kèdùpán)panel on a radio; knob that is turned to change the wavelength
  • 撥號盤 /拨号盘 (bōhàopán)disk with finger holes on a telephone
  • 撥 /拨 (bō)to select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
  • 打電話 /打电话 (dǎ diànhuà)to select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
Czech rotační číselnice, ciferník
  • rotační číselnicedisk with finger holes on a telephone
  • ciferníkgraduated, circular scale over which a needle moves
Danish kanalvælger, drejeskive
  • kanalvælgerpanel on a radio; knob that is turned to change the wavelength
  • drejeskivedisk with finger holes on a telephone
  • urskivegraduated, circular scale over which a needle moves
  • ringeto select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
  • tasteto select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
Dutch kanaalkiezer, kiesschijf
  • kanaalkiezerpanel on a radio; knob that is turned to change the wavelength
  • kiesschijfdisk with finger holes on a telephone
Finnish kanavanvalitsin, valintalevy
  • kanavanvalitsinpanel on a radio; knob that is turned to change the wavelength
  • valintalevydisk with finger holes on a telephone
  • naamatauluperson's face
  • asteikkograduated, circular scale over which a needle moves
  • soittaato select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
French cadran, bouille
  • cadrandisk with finger holes on a telephone
  • bouilleperson's face
  • troncheperson's face
  • cadrangraduated, circular scale over which a needle moves
  • composerto select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
  • signalerto select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
German Wählscheibe, Nummernschalter
  • Wählscheibedisk with finger holes on a telephone
  • Nummernschalterdisk with finger holes on a telephone
  • Nummernscheibedisk with finger holes on a telephone
  • Zifferblattgraduated, circular scale over which a needle moves
  • wählento select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
Hebrew חוּגָה, חייג \ חִיֵּג
  • חוּגָה (khugá)disk with finger holes on a telephone
  • חייג \ חִיֵּג (khiyeg)to select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
Hindi मिलाना
  • मिलाना (milānā)to select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
Hungarian telefontárcsa, tárcsáz
  • telefontárcsadisk with finger holes on a telephone
  • tárcsázto select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
Irish diail, diail
  • diailpanel on a radio; knob that is turned to change the wavelength
  • diaildisk with finger holes on a telephone
  • diailgraduated, circular scale over which a needle moves
  • diailighto select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
Italian disco combinatore
  • disco combinatoredisk with finger holes on a telephone
Japanese ダイヤル, 電話をかける
  • ダイヤル (daiyaru)disk with finger holes on a telephone
  • 電話をかける (denwa o kakeru)to select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
Korean 다이얼, 전화를 걸다
  • 다이얼 (daieol)disk with finger holes on a telephone
  • 전화를 걸다 (jeonhwa-reul geolda)to select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
Māori mataine
  • matainegraduated, circular scale over which a needle moves
Norwegian Bokmål tallskive
  • tallskivedisk with finger holes on a telephone
Persian شمارهگیر
  • شمارهگیر (šomâre-gir)disk with finger holes on a telephone
Polish tarcza, tarcza
  • tarczadisk with finger holes on a telephone
  • tarczagraduated, circular scale over which a needle moves
  • wykręcićto select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
  • wybraćto select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
Portuguese discar
  • discarto select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
Romanian scală, cadran
  • scalăpanel on a radio; knob that is turned to change the wavelength
  • cadrangraduated, circular scale over which a needle moves
  • scalăgraduated, circular scale over which a needle moves
  • formato select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
Russian цифербла́т, диск
  • цифербла́т (ciferblát)panel on a radio; knob that is turned to change the wavelength
  • диск (disk)disk with finger holes on a telephone
  • номеронабира́тель (nomeronabirátelʹ)disk with finger holes on a telephone
  • набо́рный диск (nabórnyj disk)disk with finger holes on a telephone
  • табло́ (tabló)person's face
  • цифербла́т (ciferblát)graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves
  • набира́ть (nabirátʹ)to select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
  • набра́ть (nabrátʹ)to select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
  • звони́ть (zvonítʹ)to select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
  • позвони́ть (pozvonítʹ)to select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
Scottish Gaelic comharraich
  • comharraichto select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
Spanish dial, dial
  • dialdisk with finger holes on a telephone
  • dialgraduated, circular scale over which a needle moves
  • marcarto select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
  • discarto select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
Swedish nummerskiva, slå
  • nummerskivadisk with finger holes on a telephone
  • slåto select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
Turkish aramak
  • aramakto select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
Ukrainian диск, номеронабира́ч
  • диск (dysk)disk with finger holes on a telephone
  • номеронабира́ч (nomeronabyráč)disk with finger holes on a telephone
Urdu ملانا
  • ملانا (milānā)to select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
Vietnamese quay
  • quayto select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone
Welsh deial, deial
  • deialpanel on a radio; knob that is turned to change the wavelength
  • deialgraduated, circular scale over which a needle moves

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with dial

trialmiledenialkyleLylevialNiallviolnihilLyelldielphialespialI'llmisdialmyalspialsupplial
All rhymes →

Anagrams

laiddaliDailAdilLidaDilaAlid
Cite this entry
APA

dial. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dial

MLA

“dial.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dial. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dial,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dial.

Source: dial on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.