释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024di•al /ˈdaɪəl, daɪl/USA pronunciation n., v., di•aled or di•alled, di•al•ing or di•al•ling. n. [countable] - Timea plate or disk on a clock or watch, containing markings upon which the time of day is indicated by hands or pointers:The second hand swept across the dial.
- Weights and Measuresa plate with markings for indicating a measurement or number, usually by means of a pointer:All the dials showed zero as the power went off.
- Telecommunicationsa knob that can be rotated, used for regulating a mechanism, esp. one that tunes a radio or television.
- Radio and Television
- a rotating disk on a telephone that is used in making calls.
- a set of pushbuttons on a telephone that perform the same function.
v. - to register on or as if on a dial:[~ + object]He dialed the numbers on the safe.
- to select by means of a dial:[~ + (in +) object]I dialed in a country-and-western station on the radio.
- Telecommunications to make a telephone call to:[~ + object]I dialed your number but got a busy signal.
- Telecommunications to dial a telephone:[no object]I started to dial but then hung up.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024di•al (dī′əl, dīl),USA pronunciation n., v., di•aled, di•al•ing or (esp. Brit.) di•alled, di•al•ling, adj. n. - Timea plate, disk, face, or other surface containing markings or figures upon which the time of day is indicated by hands, pointers, or shadows, as of a clock or sundial.
- a plate or disk with markings or figures for indicating or registering some measurement or number, as of pressure, number of revolutions, the frequency to which a radio is tuned, etc., usually by means of a pointer.
- Radio and Televisiona rotatable plate, disk, or knob used for regulating a mechanism, making and breaking electrical connections, etc., as in tuning a radio or television station in or out.
- TelecommunicationsAlso called rotary dial. a rotatable plate or disk on a telephone, fitted with finger holes that are marked with letters or numbers, used in making calls through an automatic switchboard.
- Telecommunicationsany mechanism on the face of a telephone by which the caller places a call, as push buttons.
- MiningAlso called miner's dial. a compass used for underground surveying.
v.t. - to indicate or register on or as if on a dial.
- to measure with or as if with a dial.
- to regulate, select, or tune in by means of a dial, as on a radio:to dial my favorite program.
- Telecommunicationsto make a telephone call to:Dial me at home.
v.i. - Telecommunicationsto use a telephone dial;
to dial a telephone:I keep dialing, but the line seems dead. - to tune in or regulate by means of a dial:to dial into the opera broadcast.
- dial up, to obtain, reach, or contact by telephone:to dial up stock-market information; to dial up Chicago and do some business.
adj. - Telecommunications(of a telephone) having a rotary dial mechanism.
- Medieval Latin diālis daily (Latin di(ēs) day + -ālis -al1)
- late Middle English: instrument for telling time by the sun's shadow, presumably 1400–50
dial., - dialect.
- dialectal.
- dialectic.
- dialectical.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: dial /ˈdaɪəl; daɪl/ n - the face of a watch, clock, chronometer, sundial, etc, marked with divisions representing units of time
- the circular graduated disc of various measuring instruments
- the control on a radio or television set used to change the station or channel
- the panel on a radio on which the frequency, wavelength, or station is indicated by means of a pointer
- a numbered disc on a telephone that is rotated a set distance for each digit of a number being called
- Brit
a slang word for face vb (dials, dialling, dialled) ( US dials, dialing, dialed)- to establish or try to establish a telephone connection with (a subscriber or his number) by operating the dial on a telephone
- (transitive) to indicate, measure, or operate with a dial
Etymology: 14th Century: from Medieval Latin diālis daily, from Latin diēs dayˈdialler n |