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 barely 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

I grab the handset just before the answering machine kicks in.

From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements

The force said it had started sharing data with Apple to more closely track whether stolen handsets get reconnected to a phone network after they are taken.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 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

Qualcomm raised its fiscal 2029 target for nonhandset revenue to $40 billion, up from a prior target of $22 billion, and said handsets would account for only about a third of chip revenue by then.

From MarketWatch ● 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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