telephone
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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to speak to or summon (a person) by telephone.
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to send (a message) by telephone.
verb (used without object)
noun
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Also called: telephone set. an electrical device for transmitting speech, consisting of a microphone and receiver mounted on a handset
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( as modifier )
a telephone receiver
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a worldwide system of communications using telephones. The microphone in one telephone converts sound waves into electrical signals that are transmitted along a telephone wire or by radio to one or more distant sets, the receivers of which reconvert the incoming signal into the original sound
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( as modifier )
a telephone exchange
a telephone call
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See telephone box
verb
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to call or talk to (a person) by telephone
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to transmit (a recorded message, radio or television programme, or other information) by telephone, using special transmitting and receiving equipment
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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telephonesimple
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telephonessimple
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have telephonedperfect
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has telephonedperfect
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am telephoningprogressive
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are telephoningprogressive
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is telephoningprogressive
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have been telephoningperfect progressive
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has been telephoningperfect progressive
Past
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telephonedsimple
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had telephonedperfect
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was telephoningprogressive
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were telephoningprogressive
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had been telephoningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of telephone
Explanation
A telephone is an electronic device that you use for conversations over great distances. Telephones used to be fixed to walls and connected by cables, but now most people have cellular telephones, known as cell phones or mobiles. A telephone takes sound waves, converts it into electronic signals, and then converts that back into sound waves — pretty neat. Early telephones frightened people because it seemed spooky that someone not in the room (or even the country) could speak to you, but nowadays distant communication seems perfectly normal. If your mother asks you to telephone her, she wants you to give her a call. The word comes from the Greek words for "afar" (tele-) and "voice"(phone).
Vocabulary lists containing telephone
Common Senses: Phon ("Sound")
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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.
See Examples For:
So far Peru’s response to this invasion has been “like firefighters with no time to plan,” Dardo López-Dolz, a former vice minister of the interior, told me in a telephone interview last week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
There is a lot of misinformation out there, and a lot of people are just running with it, kind of like a case of broken telephone.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
The embassy also set up the telephone hotlines to "provide information and assistance to affected families".
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Inside the box is an old rotary telephone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
My entire body was gelatin, I was weeping in relief at this lifesaving miracle of a telephone call.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
When the fire alerts sounded on telephones, "I thought everything was going to burn, the house and everything," she said at the sports hall, where they sat dozing and eating snacks.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
"Do you know about the goddess phones?" she asked, sitting down in what she called her "throne" next to a collection of bejewelled old-fashioned telephones.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
By the early 20th century, typewriters and telephones were standard office equipment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
The U.S. government broke up AT&T in 1982 because a company owning phone lines and telephones was anticompetitive.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 19, 2025
I have not been able to stop my mother’s screams in public libraries or over telephones.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
Authorities have also said police went door-to-door or telephoned residents with instructions on how to shelter or evacuate safely.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Sheinbaum, who is opposed to unilateral military action on Mexican soil, quickly telephoned Trump.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
She telephoned famous anthropologist Louis Leakey out of the blue just hoping for some advice.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2025
At some point in the ’70s or ’80s, Kauffman said, his brother telephoned him for a brief chat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2024
When I turn that page in my notebook, the next bears a note that Malcolm X had telephoned me saying “I’m going to be out of town for a few days.”
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
In her book, Harris recounts the hours after Biden’s sudden withdrawal, when she began telephoning top Democrats around the country to lock in their support.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2025
One of them, a tax attorney named Gordon, was coaxed onto stage for the purpose of publicly telephoning his wife.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 24, 2023
The Department for the Economy's careers service is also operating an extended service on Thursday and Friday online or by telephoning 0300 200 7820.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2022
In November, a day before her 97th birthday, Ruth fell in her apartment and hit her head, telephoning Judy from the floor when she could not get up.
From New York Times ● Jan. 1, 2021
I went along it for a while, but it got thicker and thicker, and all the time Earl probably telephoning home about where I was and getting Mother all upset again.
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
