dial

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)

OXFORD DICTIONARY

dial, n. & v.
--n.
1 the face of a clock or watch, marked to show the hours etc.
2 a similar flat plate marked with a scale for measuring weight, volume, pressure, consumption, etc., indicated by a pointer.
3 a movable disc on a telephone, with finger-holes and numbers for making a connection.
4 a a plate or disc etc. on a radio or television set for selecting wavelength or channel. b a similar selecting device on other equipment, e.g. a washing machine.
5 Brit. sl. a person's face.
--v. (dialled, dialling; US dialed, dialing)
1 tr. (also absol.) select (a telephone number) by means of a dial or set of buttons (dialled 999).
2 tr. measure, indicate, or regulate by means of a dial.

Idiom

dialling code a sequence of numbers dialled to connect a telephone with the exchange of the telephone being called. dialling tone (US dial tone) a sound indicating that a caller may start to dial.

Derivative

dialler n.

Etymology

ME, = sundial, f. med.L diale clock-dial ult. f. L dies day

THESAURUS

dial

appraise, appreciate, assay, assess, buzz, calculate, calibrate, caliper, call, call up, check a parameter, compute, countenance, divide, estimate, evaluate, face, fathom, features, gauge, give a ring, graduate, hang up, hold the phone, kisser, listen in, make a call, map, measure, mensurate, mete, meter, mug, pace, pan, phiz, phone, plumb, prize, probe, puss, quantify, quantize, rate, ring, ring off, ring up, size, size up, sound, span, step, survey, take a reading, telephone, triangulate, valuate, value, visage, weigh

ROGET THESAURUS

dial

Chronometry

N chronometry, horometry, horology, date, epoch, style, era, almanac, calendar, ephemeris, register, registry, chronicle, annals, journal, diary, chronogram, clock, wall clock, pendulum clock, grandfather's clock, cuckoo clock, alarm clock, clock radio, watch, wristwatch, pocket watch, stopwatch, Swiss watch, atomic clock, digital clock, analog clock, quartz watch, water clock, chronometer, chronoscope, chronograph, repeater, timekeeper, timepiece, dial, sundial, gnomon, horologe, pendulum, hourglass, clepsydra, ghurry, chronographer, chronologer, chronologist, timekeeper, annalist, calendar year, leap year, Julian calendar, Gregorian calendar, Chinese calendar, Jewish calendar, perpetual calendar, Farmer's almanac, fiscal year, chronological, chronometrical, chronogrammatical, cinquecento, quattrocento, trecento, o'clock.