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tone

noun [C] (PHONE NOISE)
 
 
/təʊn/ US  /toʊn/

Definition

B2 one of the continuous sounds that you hear on a phone that tell you if the other phone is ringing, if it is engaged, etc.: I've called him several times but I keep getting the engaged tone. Please wait until you hear the dialling tone (US dial tone) (= the sound that a phone makes when it is ready to be used).Communicating by telephone
(Definition of tone noun (PHONE NOISE) from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

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