telephone
Americannoun
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telephones
plural
verb (used with object)
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telephones,
present (3rd person singular)
-
telephoned,
past participle, past
-
telephoning
present participle
-
to speak to or summon (a person) by telephone.
-
to send (a message) by telephone.
verb (used without object)
-
telephones,
present (3rd person singular)
-
telephoned,
past participle, past
-
telephoning
present participle
noun
-
-
Also called: telephone set. an electrical device for transmitting speech, consisting of a microphone and receiver mounted on a handset
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( as modifier )
a telephone receiver
-
-
-
a worldwide system of communications using telephones. The microphone in one telephone converts sound waves into electrical signals that are transmitted along a telephone wire or by radio to one or more distant sets, the receivers of which reconvert the incoming signal into the original sound
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( as modifier )
a telephone exchange
a telephone call
-
-
See telephone box
verb
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to call or talk to (a person) by telephone
-
to transmit (a recorded message, radio or television programme, or other information) by telephone, using special transmitting and receiving equipment
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
telephonesimple
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telephonessimple
-
have telephonedperfect
-
has telephonedperfect
-
am telephoningprogressive
-
are telephoningprogressive
-
is telephoningprogressive
-
have been telephoningperfect progressive
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has been telephoningperfect progressive
Past
-
telephonedsimple
-
had telephonedperfect
-
was telephoningprogressive
-
were telephoningprogressive
-
had been telephoningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of telephone
Explanation
A telephone is an electronic device that you use for conversations over great distances. Telephones used to be fixed to walls and connected by cables, but now most people have cellular telephones, known as cell phones or mobiles. A telephone takes sound waves, converts it into electronic signals, and then converts that back into sound waves — pretty neat. Early telephones frightened people because it seemed spooky that someone not in the room (or even the country) could speak to you, but nowadays distant communication seems perfectly normal. If your mother asks you to telephone her, she wants you to give her a call. The word comes from the Greek words for "afar" (tele-) and "voice"(phone).
Vocabulary lists containing telephone
Common Senses: Phon ("Sound")
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The Industrial Revolution - Introductory
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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.
See Examples For:
She said she was refused Personal Independence Payment after following the process of filling in an application form and then having a telephone interview, a process she described as "horrible".
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Canada doesn’t have its own telephone country code.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
The three-bench court added in its order that Khan would be allowed to meet with his family once a week and speak to his sons via telephone twice weekly.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
The court also said Khan would be allowed weekly meetings with family members and telephone calls with his sons.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
My mind turns over this concept, picturing a caller doing what Theo did, sitting by the telephone, picking up and replacing a receiver over and over again, all through the night.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
When the fire alerts sounded on telephones, "I thought everything was going to burn, the house and everything," she said at the sports hall, where they sat dozing and eating snacks.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
"Do you know about the goddess phones?" she asked, sitting down in what she called her "throne" next to a collection of bejewelled old-fashioned telephones.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The 12-man company built structures for telephones and electrical equipment alongside train tracks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 25, 2025
The U.S. government broke up AT&T in 1982 because a company owning phone lines and telephones was anticompetitive.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 19, 2025
She saw the pink room, long highways, TV sets, telephones, and electric lights.
From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George
Sheinbaum, who is opposed to unilateral military action on Mexican soil, quickly telephoned Trump.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
She telephoned famous anthropologist Louis Leakey out of the blue just hoping for some advice.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2025
Kawther describes an agonising wait on the day the children were due to arrive until finally Unicef telephoned.
From BBC ● Jan. 1, 2025
At some point in the ’70s or ’80s, Kauffman said, his brother telephoned him for a brief chat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2024
Mister Brannon telephoned for a ten-cent taxi for Mrs. Wilson and then stayed to help with the hunt.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
In her book, Harris recounts the hours after Biden’s sudden withdrawal, when she began telephoning top Democrats around the country to lock in their support.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2025
The Department for the Economy's careers service is also offering advice online or by telephoning 0300 200 7820.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2023
Haney works as a contact tracer for Loudoun, telephoning people who, typically unwittingly, were recently near a person whose test results for the virus came back positive.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 30, 2021
Biden addressed the nation after telephoning Floyd’s family following the verdict, telling them, “We’re all so relieved.”
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 20, 2021
She also did a great deal of telephoning and visited every bookshop in the town.
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
