phone
1[ fohn ]
/ foʊn /
noun
a portable electronic telephone device, as a cell phone, mobile phone, or smartphone.
verb (used with object), phoned, phon·ing.
to speak to or summon (a person) by telephone.
to send (a message) by telephone.
verb (used without object), phoned, phon·ing.
to send a message by telephone.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
- phonasthenia,
- phonate,
- phonathon,
- phonation,
- phonatory,
- phone book,
- phone card,
- phone hacking,
- phone in,
- phone phreak
Origin of phone
1First recorded in 1880–85; by shortening
phone
2[ fohn ]
/ foʊn /
noun Phonetics.
a speech sound: There are three phonetically different “t” phones in an utterance of “titillate,” and two in an utterance of “tattletale.”
Origin of phone
2First recorded in 1865–70, phone is from the Greek word phōnḗ voice
-phone
a combining form meaning “speech sound” (homophone), “an instrument of sound transmission or reproduction” (telephone), “a musical instrument” (saxophone; xylophone).
Origin of -phone
see origin at phone2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for phone
phone
1/ (fəʊn) /
noun, verb
short for telephone
noun
phonetics a single uncomplicated speech sound
Word Origin for phone
C19: from Greek phōnē sound, voice
-phone
combining form
(forming nouns) indicating voice, sound, or a device giving off soundmicrophone; telephone
(forming nouns and adjectives) (a person) speaking a particular languageFrancophone
Word Origin for -phone
from Greek phōnē voice, sound
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
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper