ringtone

• ring tone, ring-tone

ring +‎ tone

ringtone (plural ringtones)

1. The sound made by a telephone when ringing.
   • 1975, LQ Krasin, RD Mccallum, Ringing generator for telephone station terminal - US Patent 3,886,321:

     voltage generator ringtone for installation in terminal stations of telephone communication systems for carrier wave

   • 1980, Journal of Mechanical Design, page 229:

     The transducers used to measure cavity dynamic pressure and reed dynamic displacement are calibrated before each test, the ringtone oscillator assembly produces a sinusoidal driving pressure, with at most, a few small harmonics.

   • 1999, B. Schweber, “Telephony Tone Generator Rings Long Loops”, in Reed Business Information:

     Introduces LT1684, a ringtone-generator integrated circuit (IC) for telephone systems from Linear Technology in California. Elimination of need for optoisolators; Function of active multipole filter within the IC; Adjustment of cadence, frequency and amplitude information;

   • 2009, J Kates, R Miller, System and method for providing calling-party identification and/or calling-party or called-party ringback services - US Patent 7,602,901:

     The source and destination nodes may be equipped with ringtone-generation engines to generate ringtones. Each of the ringtones includes at least one audible tone.

2. A customizable tone used to indicate an incoming call on a telephone, especially a mobile phone.
   • 2004, The Entertainment and Sports Lawyer; Volume 22:

     So even if the primary purpose of a ringtone is to notify the user of an incoming call, the effect of a ringtone played in public cannot be ignored if the reason users choose ringtones is, in part, in order to impress others .

   • 2005, Bill Foust, Mobile Guide to BlackBerry, page 121121:

     This actually downloads the ringtone onto your handheld and displays a screen allowing you to save it, shown in Figure 8.12.

   • 2006, Alex Turner (lyrics and music), “A Certain Romance”, in Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, performed by Arctic Monkeys:

     There's only music so that there's new ringtones

   • 2012, David Pogue, iPhone: The Missing Manual, page 152:

     Using simple audio tools in the iTunes program, you could buy a song for $1, choose a 30-second chunk, pay $1 more for the ringtone, and sync the result to your iPhone.

• ringtone rap
• ringtone oscillator

ringtone (third-person singular simple present ringtones, present participle ringtoning, simple past and past participle ringtoned)

1. (transitive, intransitive) Of a telephone: to play a ringtone.
   • 2015, Herb Borkland, DOG$, page 15:

     My handheld ringtoned “Happy Days are Here Again.” I withdrew into a quieter corner of Mahogany Bar and stuck a finger in my other ear.

   • 2019, Arthur Slade, Amber Fang (Books 1-3): Boxed Set:

     The cell reception is less than zero here, but my phone was ringtoning away. I did not like the sound of that.

• integron, nitrogen, retoning

• ringtoon (unofficial)

Borrowed from English ringtone.

• IPA^(key): /ˈrɪŋ.toːn/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ring‧tone

ringtone m (plural ringtones)

1. ringtone (sound made by a ringing telephone)

   Synonym: beltoon

Unadapted borrowing from English ringtone.

ringtone m (plural ringtones)

1. ringtone (sound made by a telephone when ringing)

   Synonym: toque

Unadapted borrowing from English ringtone.

• IPA^(key): /rinˈton/ [rĩn̪ˈt̪õn]
• Rhymes: -on

ringtone m (plural ringtones)

1. ringtone

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.