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• phone
  phone

  noun

  telephone.
• -phone
  -phone

  a combining form meaning “speech sound” (homophone ), “an instrument of sound transmission or reproduction” (telephone ), “a musical instrument” (saxophone; xylophone ).

phone

¹ American  

[fohn] / foʊn /

noun

1. telephone.

2. a portable electronic telephone device, as a cell phone, mobile phone, or smartphone.

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verb (used with object)

phones, present (3rd person singular) phoned, past participle, past phoning present participle

1. to speak to or summon (a person) by telephone.

2. to send (a message) by telephone.

verb (used without object)

phones, present (3rd person singular) phoned, past participle, past phoning present participle

1. to send a message by telephone.

phone ² American  

[fohn] / foʊn /

noun

Phonetics.

1. a speech sound.

   There are three phonetically different “t” phones in an utterance of “titillate,” and two in an utterance of “tattletale.”

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-phone ³ American  

1. a combining form meaning “speech sound” (homophone ), “an instrument of sound transmission or reproduction” (telephone ), “a musical instrument” (saxophone; xylophone ).

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-phone ¹ British  

combining form

1. (forming nouns) indicating voice, sound, or a device giving off sound

   microphone

   telephone

2. (forming nouns and adjectives) (a person) speaking a particular language

   Francophone

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phone ² British  

/ fəʊn /

noun

1. short for telephone

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phone ³ British  

/ fəʊn /

noun

1. phonetics a single uncomplicated speech sound

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• phonal
  adjective
• -phonic
  combining form

Inflected Forms

Participles

• phoning
  present
• phoned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• phone
  simple
• phones
  simple
• have phoned
  perfect
• has phoned
  perfect
• am phoning
  progressive
• are phoning
  progressive
• is phoning
  progressive
• have been phoning
  perfect progressive
• has been phoning
  perfect progressive

Past

• phoned
  simple
• had phoned
  perfect
• was phoning
  progressive
• were phoning
  progressive
• had been phoning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will phone
  simple
• will have phoned
  perfect
• will be phoning
  progressive
• will have been phoning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of phone¹

First recorded in 1880–85; by shortening

Origin of phone²

First recorded in 1865–70, phone is from the Greek word phōnḗ voice

Origin of -phone³

see origin at phone ²

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

phone -phone phones phoned phoning

"I'm safe, thank you everyone for your concern. But my phone and all my belongings burned... My mind is truly not okay right now," Tik wrote in a Facebook post.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

The last search on his phone was for a bike shop in a nearby suburb, Hall said, where the owner recalled Kirchner saying only that he was “headed north.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

Pakistan's top diplomat called for "de-escalation" and for all sides to "show restraint" during a phone call with his Iranian counterpart on Sunday, the foreign ministry said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026

McCormick declined to comment when reached by phone.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

She shoves her phone back in her bag.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

How many non-computer or -phone devices can, in a pinch, be used for tweeting?

From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2019

In response, Graham destroyed a collection of mobile phones in a stunt video.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

She also condemned the decision not to send a text message to all phones in the area.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

Mobile phones, he told her, probably don’t work in an earthquake.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

Europe’s presidents and prime ministers gathered for an emergency meeting at “The Space Egg,” as the European Council headquarters is known, told to come alone with no phones, to speak candidly.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

People cram together under the awning outside the bagel shop and talk too loudly on their phones.

From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

He phoned into CNN’s “State of the Union” and NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday morning to share his memories of Graham.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

She frantically phoned hospitals and the police, thinking he was dead.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026

According to the petition, the fight escalated, and Will Robinson phoned the police while Sandoval hid inside a spare bedroom.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026

Belov said he then phoned his sister as the group had grown in numbers and he was "worried about myself."

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026

“Oh. Mum phoned, from Cheltenham. To tell me to tell you there's a cold quiche in the fridge. I left you a note on the kitchen table.”

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

"It seems that constantly we're phoning the police or writing up incident reports," she said.

From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026

At a pivotal point in “The Christophers,” Lori explains how she can see that Julian was phoning it in during his later series of the titular paintings.

From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2026

"We started to pester and we were phoning, and we were going back and forward to the home," she said.

From BBC ● Apr. 5, 2026

When he wasn’t there, we were phoning every day.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2026

Dressed in a caftan and an appropriate white pageboy wig, Amy began phoning my father at the office.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

Related Words

• call up
• contact
• dial