ringtone

noun

ring·​tone ˈriŋ-ˌtōn How to pronounce ringtone (audio)
: the sound made by a cell phone to signal an incoming call

Examples of ringtone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The video post sees Smith sleeping on a boat, ignoring a flurry of notification sounds and ringtones. Shania Russell, EW.com, 16 Oct. 2023 Notification chimes and ringtone volume have been split into separate volume sliders in Android 14. Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 29 Oct. 2023 Apple’s iPhone is finally getting some new ringtones with iOS 17. Jay Peters, The Verge, 12 Sep. 2023 The video post showed Smith sleeping on a boat at sea surrounded by a variety of pinging sounds and ringtones. Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 16 Oct. 2023 Give your iPhone inbound ringtone, notifications and alert sounds a makeover immediately. Kurt Knutsson, Fox News, 20 Sep. 2023 Sep 12 Jay Peters The iPhone is getting new ringtones Photo by Nilay Patel / The Verge Apple’s iPhone is finally getting some new ringtones with iOS 17. Emma Roth, The Verge, 13 Sep. 2023 Some trickery is required to get your ringtones ready. David Nield, WIRED, 5 Mar. 2023 This meant not inviting friends over when my mom made kimchee, and the house smelled of fermentation, laughing when my high school boyfriend called me ‘ornamental’ and just rolling my eyes when a college friend set ‘the Oriental riff’ as my ringtone on her phone. Susanna Schrobsdorff, Time, 21 Mar. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ringtone.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1983, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ringtone was in 1983

Dictionary Entries Near ringtone

Cite this Entry

“Ringtone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ringtone. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ringtone

noun
ring·​tone ˈriŋ-ˌtōn How to pronounce ringtone (audio)
: the sound made by a cell phone to signal an incoming call

More from Merriam-Webster on ringtone

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