Dial

/ˈdaɪ.əl/ · noun

Meaning

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

Definitions by Sense

1. A graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves to show a measurement (such as speed).
2. A sundial.
3. A panel on a radio etc showing wavelengths or channels; a knob that is turned to change the wavelength etc.
4. A disk with finger holes on a telephone; used to select the number to be called.
5. (UK, Australia, slang) A person's face.
6. A miner's compass.
7. (transitive) To control or select something with a dial, or (figuratively) as if with a dial.
8. (transitive) To select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone, regardless of whether a physical dial is present.

Example Sentences

Holonyms: (often holonymous) instrument, gauge

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

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

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

“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.”

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.

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.

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

Synonyms for dial

Antonyms for dial

Related Words

Word Forms

• dials
• dialing
• dialling
• dialed
• dialled

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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