intercom

[in-ter-kom]

noun

1. a communication system within a building, ship, airplane, local area, etc., with a loudspeaker or receiver for listening and a microphone for speaking at each of two or more points.

2. a microphone or receiver of such a communication system.

intercom

/ ˈɪntəˌkɒm /

noun

1. informal,  an internal telephone system for communicating within a building, an aircraft, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of intercom¹

First recorded in 1935–40; by shortening

Word History and Origins

Origin of intercom¹

C20: short for intercommunication

Example Sentences

He was trying to contact the guards using an intercom when the tsunami flooded in.

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“I’m worried about this section. They’re not gonna suddenly cut to it,” Bailey said just before a clip of his tape played, which included the interruption on the theater’s intercom.

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After trying each of the buzzers on the road I was unable to find the owner of the fence, however Nick Sawyer, a resident on the road did answer his intercom and shared his views.

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“I only have one line of dialogue in that first episode, other than the intercom,” Seehorn says, still able to recite it by memory.

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A recent one consisted of a close-up of one of those vents above your airplane seat that regulates air circulation while the plane’s captain welcomes the viewer to “ICE Air” over the intercom.

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