telephone
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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to speak to or summon (a person) by telephone.
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to send (a message) by telephone.
verb (used without object)
noun
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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
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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
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See telephone box
verb
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to call or talk to (a person) by telephone
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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
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telephonesimple
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telephonessimple
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have telephonedperfect
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has telephonedperfect
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am telephoningprogressive
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are telephoningprogressive
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is telephoningprogressive
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have been telephoningperfect progressive
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has been telephoningperfect progressive
Past
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telephonedsimple
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had telephonedperfect
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was telephoningprogressive
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were telephoningprogressive
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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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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:
The data taken includes telephone numbers and email addresses relating to individuals and organisations but does not include bank details or other sensitive information.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
So far Peru’s response to this invasion has been “like firefighters with no time to plan,” Dardo López-Dolz, a former vice minister of the interior, told me in a telephone interview last week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Emergency alerts were sent by telephone to residents of the districts because of the fire and several arterial roads were cut off, the Civil Guard said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
There is a lot of misinformation out there, and a lot of people are just running with it, kind of like a case of broken telephone.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
In the brass public telephone vestibule just outside, I drop a coin in the slot and sigh with relief when the operator is able to connect me to Aunt Tess.
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
"We look at all of the data we have in our telephones, CCTV, the audio. There's that wealth of documentary evidence. And of course, when you go back such a long time, witnesses pass away."
From BBC ● May 26, 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
There were no telephones, but word spread quickly through the small town.
From "Holes" by Louis Sachar
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
O2 Virgin Media confirmed the scammer telephoned its call centre requesting a new sim and had hacked Stephen's emails.
From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2025
According to testimony from a former agriculture official, Menendez telephoned one day to order him to stand down in his efforts to oppose the monopoly.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2024
I telephoned my Muslim friend, as he had asked, and the Hajj party of his friends was waiting for me.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Blinken was telephoning world leaders in an effort to decide on a course of action, a State Department spokesman said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2023
The Department for the Economy's careers service is also offering advice online or by telephoning 0300 200 7820.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2023
One of them, a tax attorney named Gordon, was coaxed onto stage for the purpose of publicly telephoning his wife.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 24, 2023
The brothers raced up to their high-rise office and tried telephoning her.
From New York Times ● Feb. 26, 2023
I asked the English-speaking one if he would please do me the favor of telephoning Dr. Omar Azzam at the number I had.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
