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.

He is then alleged to have been pointing his mobile phone at the training session while wearing in-ear headphones - as shown in the above photo.

From BBC • May 15, 2026

Craig added that he recommended that the footage he watched on a mobile phone should also be downloaded and viewed on a bigger screen.

From BBC • May 15, 2026

Vodafone last week announced it would take full ownership of Britain's biggest mobile phone operator, VodafoneThree.

From Barron's • May 12, 2026

North Korea had 6.35 million mobile phone subscriptions at the end of 2022, the most recent year for which data is available, according to the International Telecommunications Union.

From Barron's • May 5, 2026

Alex saw that she had stood up again and was speaking into the mobile phone, perhaps calling for help.

From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz

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