dialling

Punching phone digits

Dialling is the British spelling of dialing—the act of entering a phone number to make a call.

The word persists from rotary telephones, where you literally turned a dial: She was dialling his number when the doorbell rang.

Now it applies to pressing buttons or tapping screens.

Dialling also describes tuning a radio to a frequency.

telephone

ringing

Sustained resonant sound

phonebook · directory · operator · long-distance · local · emergency · hotline · voicemail · busy · callback

tuning

frequency

Rate of recurrence

  • radioElectromagnetic wave receiver
  • shortwaveHigh-frequency radio band
  • AMPre-midday designation

FM · bandwidth · station · wavelength · receiver · analog · fine-tuning · calibration · indicator · needle

rotary

knob

Rounded gripping fixture

disk · ring · clockwise · counter-clockwise · vintage · mechanical · clicks · numbered

keypad

touchscreen

Input-sensitive display panel

  • buttonsSmall disc fasteners
  • inputData received for processing
  • numbersCounting and calculation symbols

star · hash · numeric · digits · touchpad · backlit · programmable

code

prefix

Root-modifying front element

routing · format · zero-zero

Opposites
call initiation vs termination

diallinghanging up

Ending a telephone connection

disconnecting · terminating · cutting off

call sequence stages

diallinganswering

Providing a response

ringing · picking up · connected · receiving · talking

Phrases
Family

dial, dials, dialled, redial, misdial, redialed, autodialer, redials, redialing

Familiarity
Top 100,000
Profile
Known to kids · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G