dial

noun

/ˈdaɪəl/

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the face of a clock or watch, or a similar control on a machine, piece of equipment or vehicle that shows a measurement of time, amount, speed, temperature, etc.
- an alarm clock with a luminous dial
- Check the tyre pressure on the dial.
- Set the dial for the number of copies required.
- You can tune into our station at 1460 on the radio dial.
see also sundialTopics Transport by car or lorryc1, Engineeringc1
the round control on a radio, cooker, etc. that you turn in order to change something, for example to choose a particular station or to choose a particular temperature
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verb + dial
- adjust
- set
- spin
- …
See full entry
the round part on some older phones, with holes for the fingers, that you move around to call a particular number

dial

verb

/ˈdaɪəl/

[transitive, intransitive]

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they dial	/ˈdaɪəl/ /ˈdaɪəl/
he / she / it dials	/ˈdaɪəlz/ /ˈdaɪəlz/
past simple dialled	/ˈdaɪəld/ /ˈdaɪəld/
past participle dialled	/ˈdaɪəld/ /ˈdaɪəld/
(North American English) past simple dialed	/ˈdaɪəld/ /ˈdaɪəld/
(North American English) past participle dialed	/ˈdaɪəld/ /ˈdaɪəld/
-ing form dialling	/ˈdaɪəlɪŋ/ /ˈdaɪəlɪŋ/
(North American English) -ing form dialing	/ˈdaɪəlɪŋ/ /ˈdaɪəlɪŋ/

Phrasal Verbs

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dial (something) to use a phone by pushing buttons or turning the dial to call a number
- He dialled the number and waited.
- Dial 0033 for France.
Wordfinder
- area code
- call
- dial
- engaged
- hold
- line
- message
- phone
- ring off
- voicemail
Collocations Phones
PhonesMaking and receiving phone calls
- the phone/telephone rings
- answer/pick up/hang up the phone/telephone
- lift/pick up/hold/replace the receiver
- dial a (phone/extension/wrong) number/an area code
- call somebody/talk (to somebody)/speak (to somebody) on the phone/telephone; from home/work/the office
- make/get/receive a phone call
- take the phone off the hook (= remove the receiver so that the phone does not ring)
- the line is (British English) engaged/ (especially North American English) busy
- the phones have been (North American English) ringing off the hook (= ringing frequently)
- put somebody through/get through to the person you want to speak to
- put somebody on hold (= so that they must wait for the person they want to speak to)
- call from/use a landline
Mobile/cell phones
- be/talk on a (both British English) mobile phone/mobile/(especially North American English) cell phone/(informal, especially North American English) cell
- use/answer/call (somebody on)/get a message on your mobile phone/mobile/cell phone/cell
- switch/turn on/off your mobile phone/mobile/cell phone/cell
- charge/recharge your mobile phone/mobile/cell phone/cell
- a mobile/cell phone is on/is off/rings/goes off
- (British English) top up your mobile/cell (phone)
- send/receive a text (message)/an SMS (message)/a fax
- insert/remove/change a SIM card
Extra Examples
- I dialled her number but there was no reply.
- It is possible to dial direct to many countries.
- She picked up the receiver, paused a moment, and then dialled.
Topics Phones, email and the internetc1
Word OriginMiddle English (denoting a mariner's compass): from medieval Latin diale ‘clock dial’, based on Latin dies ‘day’.