What does dial mean?
A dial is the marked face of an instrument on which a pointer, needle, or hand indicates a value — the hours on a clock, the temperature in an oven, the frequency on a radio. The word derives ultimately from the Latin dies, meaning day, because its earliest forms were sundials, which tracked daylight hours. Over centuries the term broadened to any calibrated indicator surface, including gauges, meters, and control knobs. In the twentieth century it acquired a second life through telephony: the rotary disc on early telephones was called a dial, and so dial became a verb meaning to place a call by selecting numbers. Although rotary phones have vanished, the verb endures — we still dial numbers, redial busy lines, and speak of dial tones and dial-up internet. The word has also developed lively figurative senses, notably in informal American usage such as dial it down or dial up the drama, meaning to reduce or increase intensity. Few common words carry so much history inside so small a space.
A graduated face or plate marked with numbers on which a pointer indicates a measurement, time, or setting; formerly, a sundial.
"Turn the dial clockwise to increase the volume."
In British English the term may also refer to the face of a surveying instrument.
To operate a dial, especially to enter a phone number on a telephone, or to select or adjust a setting using a dial control.
"Dial 999 in an emergency."
Figurative informal uses like 'dial it back' are chiefly American but widely understood.
Regular plural; used when referring to multiple instrument faces or controls.
"The cockpit was covered in dials and switches."
The word 'dial' literally means 'daily' in Latin — the first dials weren't phone parts but sundials, whose shadow told you the day's hours.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dial
'Dial' comes from the medieval Latin dialis, meaning 'pertaining to a day', itself derived from dies, the Latin word for day. It entered English around the fifteenth century in the sense of a sundial — an instrument that marks the passage of the day's hours — and later expanded to the faces of clocks, compasses, and other measuring devices. The telephone sense arose in the late nineteenth century with rotary dials, giving rise to the verb. Cognates sharing the same root include diary, diurnal, and meridian, all ultimately connected to the idea of a day.
Related word forms
How dial is actually used
In British English, 'dial' can also mean a sundial or the plate of a surveying instrument. The verb 'dial' is now most common in the context of phone calls ('dial a number', 'redial'), even though modern phones have no physical dial; figurative uses like 'dial it back' and 'dial up the intensity' are informal Americanisms that have spread widely.
Easily confused with dial
A diary is a daily record of events, while a dial is an instrument face for indicating measurements — both trace to the Latin 'dies' (day), but their meanings diverged entirely.