handset

American  

[hand-set, hand-set, -set] / ˈhændˌsɛt, ˈhændˈsɛt, -ˌsɛt /

noun

• handsets
  plural

1. Also called French telephone. a telephone having a mouthpiece and earpiece mounted at opposite ends of a handle.

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verb (used with object)

handset, handsetting

1. to set (type) by hand.

adjective

1. (of type) set by hand.

2. (of a publication) printed directly from type set by hand.

handset British  

/ ˈhændˌsɛt /

noun

1. a telephone mouthpiece and earpiece mounted so that they can be held simultaneously to mouth and ear

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• handsets
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of handset

First recorded in 1915–20; hand + set

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

handset handsets handsetting

They use Bluetooth to sync with a handset via Meta's AI app.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

He gets just over a week to settle in, with Apple holding its annual iPhone event on September 9, where it is expected to unveil its first foldable handset.

From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026

Although there’s caution around Qualcomm’s handset revenue given cyclical weakness in the smartphone market, Acree said those concerns should be offset by gains in its other businesses, including automotive and technology licensing.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

But what was once a small memorial is now just the base of an old rotary phone without the handset.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

His knuckles whitened as he gripped the handset.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

"A new era of AI agent smartphones begins," Nubia said, sharing images of the handsets online.

From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026

He attributes that to strong consumer demand for “premier-tier” handsets and the possibility of price increases.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026

Founded as a ground wood pulp mill on the banks of Finland’s Nokianvirta River in 1865, the company evolved through rubber and cables before it became known for mobile handsets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

He found that three mobile phone handsets ordered by the Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley MP were ultimately "claimable business costs".

From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026

Ten minutes later, Kyle, Akimi, and Sierra had stripped the sproingy wires off a couple of telephone handsets.

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

Despite the lead and fumes, Linotypes resulted in far safer and faster conditions than handsetting, and hot-lead composition quickly become the rule for books and periodicals.

From Economist ● Mar. 30, 2018

With hobbies running from gardening to handsetting type, Boyd shares some of Jefferson's own tastes.

From Time Magazine Archive

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