Definition
A telephone system feature that allows a user on an internal phone network to place an outgoing call to an outside number directly, without going through an operator or switchboard.
Plain English
It means you can dial an outside phone number straight from an internal office or facility phone, instead of asking someone to connect the call for you.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA abbreviation and notice material when describing phone or communication access at an aviation facility.
Derivation
The name describes the function in plain terms: 'direct' (no middle step), 'outward' (going out of the internal system), and 'dial' (placing the call yourself). The term comes from older telephone-system language when most outgoing calls had to be routed by a human operator.
Why Pilots Care
If contact information depends on direct outward dial capability, it tells the pilot or airport personnel whether an outside call can be made directly from that phone line.
Intuition Check
Do not read outward as a flight direction here. In this term, outward means calling from an internal phone line to an outside phone number.
Example Sentence 1
The briefing room phone has direct outward dial, so the dispatcher called the FBO without going through the front desk.
Example Sentence 2
With DOD active, the dispatcher could call the FSS directly for an update.