Phrase guide

dial tone

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 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.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

9 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 撥號音 /拨号音 (bōhàoyīn) — telephony signal
  • Dutch: kiestoon — telephony signal
  • Finnish: valintaääni — telephony signal
  • Finnish: vapaaääni — telephony signal
  • French: tonalité — telephony signal
  • German: Wählton — telephony signal
  • Hebrew: צליל חיוג (tslil hiug) — telephony signal
  • Spanish: tono de marcar — telephony signal
  • Swedish: kopplingston — telephony signal