dial tones
Landline ready sounds
A dial tone is the steady hum a telephone makes when you pick up the receiver, signaling the line is ready for you to place a call.
With the decline of landlines, dial tones have become increasingly unfamiliar—many young people have never heard one.
The phrase persists figuratively: I called but just got a dial tone can mean someone was unresponsive or unavailable.
Phone's incoming call sound
- busy signalTelephonic rejection sound
- receiverOne who accepts transmission
- landlineStationary wired telephone
- rotaryInvolving circular motion
switchboard · operator · disconnect · handset · pulse · carrier · voicemail · hold music
ringtone
Phone's incoming call sound
- busy signalTelephonic rejection sound
- receiverOne who accepts transmission
- landlineStationary wired telephone
rotary · switchboard · operator · disconnect · handset · pulse · carrier · voicemail · hold music · call waiting
hum
Low steady sound
signal · electronic · static · beep · continuous · monotone · drone · sound · acoustic · hertz
landline
Stationary wired telephone
- rotary phoneCircular-dial telephone
- payphonePublic coin-operated telephone
- telephone boothEnclosed public payphone station
cord · receiver · analog · vintage · retro · childhood · memory · bygone · obsolete · communication
dial tonesbusy signals
Sounds indicating unavailable lines
ringing · hello · picked up · two-way communication · hold music
dial, tone, dials, dialed, dialing, dialer, dialers, tones, toned