dial tone

noun

A telephony signal, usually in the form of a sound, used to indicate that the telephone exchange is working, has recognized an off-hook, and is ready to accept a call.

Similar
dialling tone
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Meanings

noundial tone (plural dial tones)

plural dial tones

  1. A telephony signal, usually in the form of a sound, used to indicate that the telephone exchange is working, has recognized an off-hook, and is ready to accept a call.

    Are we jaded? Has living with AIDS become no big deal? Has AIDS had its "15 minutes?" We're over it. Goodbye. Click. Dial tone.

    1993 October, Robert Vazquez-Pachéco, “Have We Forgotten About AIDS?”, in Gay Community News, page 5

    Synonyms: dialling tone

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA telephony signal, usually in the form of a sound, used to indicate that the telephone exchange is working, has recognized an off-hook, and is ready to accept a call.

Similar
dialling tone

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 撥號音 /拨号音
  • 撥號音 /拨号音 (bōhàoyīn)telephony signal
Dutch kiestoon
  • kiestoontelephony signal
Finnish valintaääni, vapaaääni
  • valintaäänitelephony signal
  • vapaaäänitelephony signal
French tonalité
  • tonalitételephony signal
German Wählton
  • Wähltontelephony signal
Hebrew צליל חיוג
  • צליל חיוג (tslil hiug)telephony signal
Spanish tono de marcar
  • tono de marcartelephony signal
Swedish kopplingston
  • kopplingstontelephony signal
Cite this entry
APA

dial tone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dial%20tone

MLA

“dial tone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dial%20tone. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dial tone,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dial%20tone.

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