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• phone-in
  phone-in

  noun

  call in.
• phone in
  phone in

  verb

  (intr) to make a telephone call to deliver information (esp to a broadcasting studio or place of work)

phone-in

American  

[fohn-in] / ˈfoʊnˌɪn /

noun

1. call in.

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phone-in ¹ British  

noun

1. 1. a radio or television programme in which listeners' or viewers' questions, comments, etc, are telephoned to the studio and broadcast live

   2. ( as modifier )

      a phone-in discussion

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phone in ² British  

verb

1. (intr) to make a telephone call to deliver information (esp to a broadcasting studio or place of work)

2. slang (tr) to deliver (a performance) in a perfunctory manner

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Etymology

Origin of phone-in

First recorded in 1965–70; noun, adj. use of verb phrase phone in

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

phone-in phone in

"I don't think you can ever call people cowardly who call by-elections," he told a phone-in programme on LBC.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

Take Nigel Farage, leader of the populist party Reform UK, who has known Trump for close to a decade, hosted him on his phone-in radio show and visited him in the Oval Office.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 2026

But in 1968, BBC Nottingham launched what is believed to be Britain's first radio phone-in show.

From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026

Paying tribute, broadcaster and journalist Paul Rowley said he had been "privileged to work with him" at LBC and the BBC, calling Hayes "the best phone-in presenter on British radio".

From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2025

He said callers should be treated as "real people with something to say" and that the phone-in should be treated "like a conversation that matters".

From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2025

I tried it recently in my neighborhood supermarket and discovered, phone in hand, that a package of Earthbound Farm broccoli florets had a Taylor Farms connection I would otherwise never have known about.

From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026

The areas where such work is performed do not allow cell phones, so the most convenient thing to do is to leave your phone in the car.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

"I can't take any risk talking on the phone in the position I'm in," Luka said, his tone anxious.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

So my wife and I built our wind phone in Joshua Tree, in honor of our kids.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

In my haste to leave the house, I’d left my cell phone in my room.

From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence