Meaning & use
dial in
Last updated
Meanings
verbintransitive
To join a meeting or call by telephone rather than in person or by video link.
Grammar: No object; it is often followed by 'to' plus the meeting or number: dial in to the meeting.
Patterns
- dial in to something
- dial in for something
- dial in from somewhere
Half the team dialed in to the meeting from home.
You can dial in to the conference using the code on your invitation.
She dialed in from the airport and could barely hear us.
nouncountable
A telephone connection used to join a meeting, or the number and code needed to make it.
Grammar: Used mainly before another noun, as in 'dial-in number' or 'dial-in details'.
Patterns
- a dial-in number
- dial-in details
- get the dial-in
The invitation lists a dial-in number and a six-digit passcode.
I'll email everyone the dial-in details before the meeting starts.
adjectivebefore a noun
Relating to a service or meeting that people join by telephone.
Grammar: Comes before a noun and has no comparative form: a dial-in service.
Patterns
- a dial-in service
- a dial-in meeting
- dial-in access
The company offers a dial-in service for staff who travel.
We set up a dial-in option so remote colleagues could take part.
Word forms
| third person singular | dials in |
|---|---|
| past tense | dialed in |
| past participle | dialed in |
| -ing form | dialing in |
Common combinations
- dial in to a meeting
- Please dial in to the meeting five minutes early.
- dial-in number
- The dial-in number is at the bottom of the email.
- dial-in details
- She sent the dial-in details to the whole team.
- dial in from home
- I usually dial in from home on Fridays.
- toll-free dial-in
- The toll-free dial-in works from any landline.
Synonyms and how they differ
- call in
- 'Call in' also means joining by phone, but it can additionally mean making a brief ordinary phone call, so it is less specific.
- join by phone
- This plain phrase is clearer in writing when your reader may not know the technical term.
Opposites
Word family
- dial verb
- To press numbers on a phone or device to make a call.
- dial-up noun
- An old, slow way of connecting to the internet through a phone line.
Commonly confused: dial in or log in? dial in or dial down?
dial in vs log in
'Log in' means entering a username and password to use a system; 'dial in' means joining by telephone.
dial in vs dial down
'Dial down' means to reduce something, such as tension or brightness, and has nothing to do with joining a call.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'dial in' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Dial in' takes 'to' before the meeting: dial in to the meeting. Option 1 misses the preposition, and options 3 and 4 use impossible preposition combinations.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dial in”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.