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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

They are also using targeted digital ads, mailers and phone calls to persuade these voters to cast ballots.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

"The event was ready to go," he added, saying officers with sniffer dogs did a sweep of the arena again after the phone call was made.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

The rescue team set up a mission base near Crowley Lake, at the base of the Sierra, and used topographic matching from Seibert’s photos and cell phone forensics to establish a search pattern.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

Beth Pinsker wrote about various approaches to limiting or monitoring phone access to protect your parents.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

The two of them often speak on the phone.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

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

From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2019

While the mobile phone itself remains the single indispensable device, at least for now, the networks that connect those phones have remained relatively predictable.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

The change in shipping levels this month will affect some but not all suppliers of the phones, according to the publication.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

“We don’t know how things would develop from here,” one of the executive-level people reportedly told Nikkei Asia in relation to the company reducing its orders for parts for the newly launched premium phones.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

Two people were arrested at addresses in London this morning on suspicion of fraud and immigration offences, with Home Office officers also seizing phones, jewellery and thousands of pounds in cash.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

If multiple people had phones, I would have noticed.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

"They phoned the airbase police, who didn't answer the phone. It just rang out so she dialled 999," he told the BBC.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

Chalong then left the scene, and phoned a startled journalist he knew who was in the middle of a live broadcast on YouTube, to tell her what had happened.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Salonen was on the jury of the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition that Dudamel won and phoned Borda from Bamberg, famously describing the boyish Dudamel as “a conducting animal.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

The vote proved too close to call on Tuesday evening, but by Wednesday morning, El-Sayed had claimed the win, and Stevens had phoned him to concede.

From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026

A few days later, Boghetti phoned Marian in Philadelphia to tell her that she had been chosen as one of sixteen semifinalists.

From "The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights" by Russell Freedman

People forget what shopping looked like before Amazon: flipping through glossy catalogs, mailing or phoning in orders and waiting weeks for delivery.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 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

He then fled on foot, phoning his girlfriend to collect him.

From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2026

I had watched her go through the awkward ordeal of phoning news people.

From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals

Related Words

• call up
• contact
• dial