telephonist

[ tuh-lef-uh-nist, tel-uh-foh- ]

/ təˈlɛf ə nɪst, ˈtɛl əˌfoʊ- /

Save This Word!

noun Chiefly British.

a telephone switchboard operator.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of telephonist

First recorded in 1875–80; telephone + -ist

Words nearby telephonist

telephone pole, telephone receiver, telephone selling, telephone tag, telephonic, telephonist, telephony, telephoto, telephotograph, telephotography, telephoto lens

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use telephonist in a sentence

The doctor toddled off, and I got the telephonist to ring through to the colonel.
Pushed and the Return Push|George Herbert Fosdike Nichols, (AKA Quex)
His command consisted of five riflemen, a telephonist, a linesman, and two stretcher-bearers.
Canada in Flanders, Volume II (of 3)|Lord Max Aitken Beaverbrook
In registering guns you take a telephonist and linesmen with you.
The Glory of the Trenches|Coningsby Dawson
"Plus 3," announced the telephonist, repeating an order from the distant Captain.
Over the Front in an Aeroplane and Scenes Inside the French and Flemish Trenches|Ralph Pulitzer

"Plus 4," sang out the telephonist, and there was a mechanical repetition of operations.
Over the Front in an Aeroplane and Scenes Inside the French and Flemish Trenches|Ralph Pulitzer

British Dictionary definitions for telephonist

telephonist

/ (tɪˈlɛfənɪst) /

noun

British a person who operates a telephone switchboardAlso called (esp US): telephone operator

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