A touch-tone phone has numbered buttons that make different sounds when you press them. Some automatic phone services can only be used with this kind of telephone.
touch-tone in British English
adjective
of or relating to a telephone dialling system in which each of the buttons pressed generates a tone of a different pitch, which is transmitted to the exchange
touch-tone in American English
(ˈtʌtʃˌtoʊn)
US
adjective
designating or of a type of telephone that may be used with a service (touch tone) that responds to individual fixed electronic tones activated by corresponding buttons pushed in placing a call
Word origin
< Touch Tone, a former trademark
In other languages
touch-tone
British English: touch-tone ADJECTIVE
A touch-tone telephone has numbered buttons that make different sounds when you press them.