dial back

dial (one) back

To call one back. I'm sorry, my phone is about to die. Let me go grab my charger, and I'll dial you back in a few minutes, OK? Stu just walked in. Let me see where he stands on this, and I'll dial you back.
See also: back, dial

dial back

To lessen something, especially in intensity. I could barely move my arms all week—I guess it's time to dial back the workouts!
See also: back, dial
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • dial (one) back
  • back door
  • come back and see us
  • be/go back to square one
  • back
  • back at (something or some place)
  • echo back to
  • back to square one
  • a while back
  • be back on the rails
References in periodicals archive
Today's less pessimistic take on trade comes after President Trump appeared to dial back the rhetoric, speaking from the G-7 in France.
Washington, June 1 (Petra)- The US administration has delayed new, tougher sanctions on Iran's petrochemical sector, as it seeks to dial back tensions that have threatened to spiral out of control, according to Wall Street Journal.
The vitriolic exchange prompted an intervention from UFC chief Dana White, who urged both camps to dial back their rhetoric.
Either weakening demand will lead firms to dial back the pace of hiring or the robust pace of hiring will lead firms to ramp back up production."
After more than a decade of smartphones integrating themselves into every aspect of our daily lives, many users are making a conscious decision to dial back their screen time and let their cellphone be what it was meant to be in the first place: A simple phone.
But they also changed the structure of the program to dial back benefits in order to keep the system from collapsing.
"However, since February, they have begun to dial back the freebees offered to new residents while keeping their face rents relatively unchanged."
The designation is believed to have been awarded a year ago and the firm was forced to dial back its risk-taking.
"While training Anna through unconventional methods, Kat spends time with Ty, who learns to dial back the pressure on Anna," the synopsis continues.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin Sunday tried to dial back Trump's comments.
The best ones have a zero-stop-type mechanism so shooters can dial back to their baseline sight-in distance (typically 100 or 200 yards; being a western guy, I see no sense in sighting in a flat-shooting modern cartridge at anything less than 200 yards) without losing track of how many rotations they made with the turret.
Also, suicidal checkpoints spawn you slap bang in the middle of tough firefights, surrounded by enemies, with no way to dial back to a more sensible section unless you restart the whole game.
From her cracking cover of Tame Impala's Same ol' Mistakes onwards, though, she chucks out the electronics and switches the dial back to pop, trying on first Adele's and then Amy Winehouse's shoes for size.
"Just get ready for the 200 meters, dial back in and be ready for business." Bolt, the six-times Olympic gold-medallist, refused to depict the race, described in some quarters as a clash of "good vs evil," as a morality tale.