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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 watched through all hours of the night and at one point screamed into my phone ‘YOU’VE GOT THIS, JACKIE!’ startling my entire family awake.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

"This is especially true if you're using any sort of magnifying lens attachment on the phone."

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Fraser had deleted texts from his own phone to conceal his relationship with Broadus.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

Using our last move as a comparison price, we ultimately saved $170 just by making a few phone calls.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

Dad’s in his room on the phone; I hear him in a low whisper, softly laughing.

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

Some leap over flame as friends raise phones and cheer.

From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026

Many still made it through, planning their crossings with waterproof bags for phones, cash and other essentials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

The restaurant also doesn’t allow people to talk on their phones inside.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Bath University professor David Ellis points out that each new technological trend - including the very use of mobile phones - has often prompted odd looks when deployed in public.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

My peeps are the kids who don’t have phones and laptops and money for lunch.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

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

He said he received confirmation of the death after his assistant phoned local police.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

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

I phoned her not long after it began, when the rapping against our windows got so bad I thought for certain those hundreds of tiny collisions would break the glass.

From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez

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

Kruyer says this used to involve hours of phoning around.

From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2026

She had tried phoning him three times before she set out, but she supposed he'd gone to see his daughter again.

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke

Related Words

• call up
• contact
• dial