rotary

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

They haven’t seen three completed passes in a row since phones came with rotary dials.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

Regardless, the desire to be “the Mary” is natural to anyone raised on “Mary Tyler Moore,” which describes pretty much anybody who remembers rotary dial phones or Nick at Nite.

From Salon • Jan. 31, 2026

It’s like having the world’s largest collection of rotary phones while the other guy’s building cell towers.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 25, 2025

“I miss the rotary phone. I still look for phone booths.”

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 11, 2025

Other examples of complex technologies that diffused east and west in the ancient Old World, from a single West Asian source, include door locks, pulleys, rotary querns, windmills—and the alphabet.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond