direct-dial

American  

[dih-rekt-dahy-uhl, -dahyl, dahy-rekt-] / dɪˈrɛktˈdaɪ əl, -ˈdaɪl, daɪˈrɛkt- /

Or direct dial

verb (used with or without object)

1. to make a telephone call outside the local area without the assistance of an operator.

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adjective

1. being a telephone or telephone system enabling long-distance calls to be direct-dialed.

2. of or relating to direct dialing.

Etymology

Origin of direct-dial

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

In 1983, the last full-fledged hand-cranked telephone system in the United States went out of service as 440 telephone customers in Bryant Pond, Maine, were switched over to direct-dial service.

From Washington Times • Oct. 11, 2020

She laughs: "Because you're the one who has the direct-dial phone to the White House."

From BusinessWeek • May 27, 2010

The Carlyle will soon offer worldwide direct-dial phones for international hommes des affaires.

From Time Magazine Archive

What could be more useful for, say, an insurance salesman or an executive recruiter than a major corporation's internal telephone book, complete with direct-dial access and perhaps even everyone's home number?

From Time Magazine Archive

Everything a customer might say to it is done by punching the direct-dial tone buttons on your subset.

From The Hacker Crackdown, law and disorder on the electronic frontier by Sterling, Bruce