mobile phone

American

noun

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

mobile phone British

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of mobile phone

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The shipping and delivery confusion surrounding the T1 mobile phone is just one part of the story for a device marred in controversy.

From Salon • May 21, 2026

Last week, the Trump family’s mobile phone company announced in a social media post that the phones would be “shipping this week” to customers who preordered the device.

From Salon • May 21, 2026

A woman who survived a crash that saw her car plunge hundreds of feet down a mountainside in north Wales said her mobile phone saved her life.

From BBC • May 20, 2026

The mobile phone shop, and the other two UK firms we investigated, are all listed at Companies House, the government's official registry of businesses.

From BBC • May 18, 2026

She noticed he had a mobile phone in a holster at his hip.

From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023