mobile phone

American  

noun

1. any wireless telephone that operates over a relatively large area, as a cell phone or PCS phone.

---

mobile phone British  

noun

1. a portable telephone that works by means of a cellular radio system

---

Etymology

Origin of mobile phone

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mobile phone

A poignant moment as three bell tolls marking the end of a minute's silence in the cathedral was briefly interrupted by a mobile phone alarm going off.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

Authorities have now introduced the high school mobile phone ban, even though teachers' unions warn that the measure might be hard to implement quickly.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

The mobile phone evidence only "possibly" showed where Patterson had been, Drago said, while there was no evidence that Patterson had ever accessed or seen the iNaturalist posts.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

“I was there at the start of the mobile phone revolution,” she told me, recalling her time at Qualcomm when her team believed that mobile phones would eventually replace all phone booths.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

The door to the chapel was open, and inside both of Scarlett’s parents were waiting, her mother in tears, her father worriedly talking to people on a mobile phone, along with another policewoman.

From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman