How to use dial in a sentence
40 example sentences · noun, verb
Dial means a graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves to show a measurement (such as speed). Example: “The dial on the dashboard showed the car was nearly out of gas.”
Examples of dial by meaning
nounA graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves to show a measurement (such as speed).
- The dial on the dashboard showed the car was nearly out of gas.
nounA panel on a radio etc showing wavelengths or channels; a knob that is turned to change the wavelength etc.
- Turn the dial to Radio 4: my favourite show is on!
nounA disk with finger holes on a telephone; used to select the number to be called.
- His hands were too fat to operate the dial on the telephone.
nounA person's face.
- “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.”1918, Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding, page 90
- 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.2006, Alexis Wright, Carpentaria, Giramondo, published 2012, page 137
verbTo control or select something with a dial, or (figuratively) as if with a dial.
- The lead guitarist for the rock band Spinal Tap dialed his amplifier to 11.
- The president has recently dialled down the rhetoric.
verbTo select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone, regardless of whether a physical dial is present.
- In an emergency dial 999.
verbTo use a dial or a telephone.
- Please be careful when dialling.
verbTo initiate a connection to a remote computer service such as a database.
- The application failed when attempting to dial the Postgres server, because there were too many open connections.
More sentences with dial
- She dialed nervously, praying that Grandma would pick up the phone and everything would turn out OK.From the entry pick up the phone
- Before starting the recording, make sure you've dialled in the right synthesiser settings.From the entry dial in
- I tried dialling in to the server, but I couldn't connect.From the entry dial in
- The mechanic dialed in the bicycle before the customer picked it up.From the entry dial it in
- The influential speech by the politician aimed to shift the dial on public opinion regarding climate change.From the entry shift the dial
- You have to dial him out to get any work done.From the entry dial out
- She plucked the phone from her bag and dialled.From the entry pluck
- My ex keeps harassing me, drunk dialing every other night.From the entry drunk dial
- You can ring out if you dial 9 first and wait for the tone before dialling the number.From the entry ring out
- The actor simply dialed in his performance, leaving even his devoted fans disappointed with the show as a whole.From the entry dial it in
- The written instructions weren't clear, so I dialed her up and asked her to explain what she meant.From the entry dial up
- These comments are guaranteed to dial up the animosity.From the entry dial up
- Let's dial down the anger in this conversation.From the entry dial down
- We felt there was too much graphic detail in the first draft, and thus asked the writer to dial it down.From the entry dial down
- To dial out, press 9 and then the phone number.From the entry dial out
- He busted out an ancient no-fidelity tabletop radio and proceeded to play some tinny music from the AM dial.From the entry no fidelity
- Rotate the dial to the left.From the entry rotate
- These deals won't last, so don't wait! Pick up the phone and dial Big Harry today! He'll find the perfect car for you!From the entry pick up the phone
- When dialling a modern telephone, the telephone number is encoded and transmitted inband across the telephone line as a set of audible tones.From the entry inband
- Zelensky has dialed into the World Economic Forum in Davos and the NATO summit in Madrid.December 7 2022, Simon Shuster, “2022 Person of the Year: Volodymyr Zelensky”, in Time, archived from the original on 04 Jan 2023. From the entry dial into
- While contemporary designers give us trends, Quant reset the dial on the way we get dressed.2021 October 28, Karen Dacre, “Miniskirt mayhem! Nine ways Mary Quant revolutionised women’s clothes – and lives”, in The Guardian. From the entry reset the dial
- Within the realm of vintage watch restoration there are few sub-specialties as controversial as dial lume.2020, Colin A. White, The Vintage Rolex Field Manual Chevalier Digital Edition, page 46. From the entry lume
- "Fine, so I'm no knight in shining armor," the host continued as she reached for the dial.2014, Rene Gutteridge, Old Fashioned, page 42. From the entry knight in shining armor
- Where torturers get drunk and turn the dial up to eleven.2013 May, Charles Baxter, “Loyalty”, in Ellen Rosenbush, editor, Harper’s Magazine, volume 326, number 1956, New York, N.Y.: Harper’s…. From the entry up to eleven
- The Machmeter is essentially an airspeed instrument that is calibrated in relation to Mach on the dial.2012, Aviation Maintenance Technician Handbook-Airframe Volume 2, FAA. From the entry machmeter
- Usually found on multiface dials, but also used on roofs, wall copings, and so forth.2012, R. Newton Mayall, Margaret W. Mayall, Sundials: Their Construction and Use, page 206. From the entry multiface
- At 4 or 5, he learned to dial by using the hookswitch like a telegraph key.2007 August 20, Douglas Martin, “Joybubbles, 58, Peter Pan of Phone Hackers, Dies”, in New York Times. From the entry hookswitch
- He has got to dial back and show some relaxed affability.2004 April 30, Lesley Stahl, “Hardball”, in MSNBC. From the entry hillbilly
- Getting a dial tone and holding a conversation free of static are minor miracles.1998 March 8, Clifford Krauss, “Dialing for Dollars in Brazil's Telephone Privatization”, in New York Times, retrieved 04 Aug 2016. From the entry minor miracle
- "Just set the dial to "Calvin", and I'll transmogrify back to a boy."1987 April 2, Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes (comic). From the entry transmogrify
Meaning of dial
- noun A graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves to show a measurement (such as speed).
- noun Such a field as part of a clock face; (metonymic) the entire clock face.
- noun A sundial.
Questions about dial in a sentence
- How do you use dial in a sentence?
- Dial is used as a noun and verb. For example: “The dial on the dashboard showed the car was nearly out of gas.”
- What is a short sentence with dial?
- “In an emergency dial 999.”
- What does dial mean?
- Dial means a graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves to show a measurement (such as speed).
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: dial (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “How to use dial in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/dial. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.