speakerphone

American

[spee-ker-fohn] / ˈspi kərˌfoʊn /

noun

a telephone or telephone attachment equipped with both loudspeaker and microphone, thus permitting the instrument to be used without being held.

speakerphone British

/ ˈspiːkəˌfəʊn /

noun

a telephone incorporating an external microphone and loudspeaker, allowing several people to participate in a call at the same time

"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

Etymology

Origin of speakerphone

1955–60, (loud)speaker + (micro)phone or (tele)phone

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“I was fed up with the kitchen thinking they were better than front-of-house,” she told me, on speakerphone, from the home they now share.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 2026

The president sometimes messes with the reporters on the line or lets people around him eavesdrop on speakerphone.

From Slate • Mar. 18, 2026

He found it hard to have speakerphone calls and listen to music.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 8, 2025

One of his sons, Flávio, who is a senator, briefly put his father on speakerphone to the crowd in Rio de Janeiro.

From BBC • Aug. 4, 2025

In the hallway, Chase is on the line with his agent, the speakerphone blaring his personal business to anyone who cares.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023