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

Etymology

Origin of handset

First recorded in 1915–20; hand + set

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

handset handsets handsetting

Sales slid 20% in the company’s handset segment, offsetting increases in its automotive and Internet of Things divisions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 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

But unbeknownst to him, his handset was still connected to the Bluetooth speaker.

From BBC ● May 6, 2026

Corporal Reynolds whips around, startled by the loud clatter of the handset against the phone’s base.

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed

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

That perception has been fair, since most revenue still comes from handsets and licensing, and new markets have stayed mostly off the income statement.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026

The police force revealed on Thursday that it had started sharing data with Apple to build a "global picture" of what happens to stolen handsets, including whether they are being reconnected to a network.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026

Apple has sold more than 3.1 billion iPhones since the handsets debuted in 2007, generating about $2.3 trillion in revenue, according to Counterpoint Research.

From Barron's ● Mar. 29, 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