mobile phone

American  

noun

1. any wireless telephone that operates over a relatively large area, as a cell phone or PCS phone.

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mobile phone British  

noun

1. a portable telephone that works by means of a cellular radio system

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Etymology

Origin of mobile phone

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

Pauken gave Person 1 a laptop and a mobile phone, which had encrypted messaging apps connected to an account with usernames Catherine and Cathy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

The shipping and delivery confusion surrounding the T1 mobile phone is just one part of the story for a device marred in controversy.

From Salon • May 21, 2026

Last week, the Trump family’s mobile phone company announced in a social media post that the phones would be “shipping this week” to customers who preordered the device.

From Salon • May 21, 2026

A woman who survived a crash that saw her car plunge hundreds of feet down a mountainside in north Wales said her mobile phone saved her life.

From BBC • May 20, 2026

He read from a law passed just a year earlier that made it a class A misdemeanor to drive carelessly for any number of reasons, including using a mobile phone.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel