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Baby Bell

American  

noun

  1. one of the seven regional telephone companies formed after the breakup of the Bell system in 1983.


Etymology

Origin of Baby Bell

An Americanism dating back to 1985–90

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.

He said that the argument for allowing cable company mergers was the same that allowed for the consolidation of the Baby Bell companies after the breakup of AT&T. “It’s a geographic extension,” he said.

From New York Times • Feb. 15, 2014

April 1997: SBC closes acquisition of a fellow Baby Bell, Pacific Telesis Group, for more than $16 billion.

From BusinessWeek • Mar. 21, 2011

It's ironic that at a telephone company someone can talk about being entrepreneurial, but we were starting our own Baby Bell.

From Washington Post • Dec. 5, 2010

Meanwhile, a number of the Baby Bell phone companies have turned to Hollywood.

From Time Magazine Archive

Baby Bell tum ev'y day—tum see Miss Nett.

From My Treasure by Handford, Thomas W.