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

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

Additionally, Amon said he expects handset revenue from Chinese customers to reach a low point in the current quarter before returning to growth.

From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026

All of them talk loudly on the handset, which she installed last month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026

“Well, in this adventure book I read once, the hero was in a very similar predicament. So he removed the curled handset wires from several telephones, bundled them together, and made a safety rope.”

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

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

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026

Iridium currently operates a 66-satellite constellation in low-Earth orbit, using it to connect handsets and other devices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has asked the home secretary for legislation to make phone companies publish data on stolen devices, and to enforce measures rendering handsets effectively unusable.

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