telephone book

American  

noun

telephone books plural

1. a book, directory, or the like, usually containing an alphabetical list of telephone subscribers in a city or other area, together with their addresses and telephone numbers.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• telephone books
  plural

Etymology

Origin of telephone book

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

Carolyn Bennett remembers flipping through a yellow telephone book in the 1980s to find carpet stores and workers who refinished wood to help renovate her home.

From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2025

One even decorated the cover of the telephone book in Fortaleza where the artist — known simply as Chico — lived and established a pioneering and controversial collective studio practice.

From New York Times • Oct. 19, 2023

If you have ever had the misfortune to search through the telephone book for somebody called Hanna in Kilkeel, County Down, you will find nearly 50 entries.

From BBC • Jun. 4, 2023

Roper equated election polling to stunts like "tearing a telephone book in two" – impressive, but not all that consequential.

From Salon • Oct. 25, 2022

Ben found the number scribbled on the cover of the small thin Ravenel telephone book.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

Related Words

• directory
• phone book
• yellow pages