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walkie-talkie

American  
[waw-kee-taw-kee] / ˈwɔ kiˈtɔ ki /
Or walky-talky

noun

Radio.

  1. a combined transmitter and receiver light enough to be carried by one person: developed originally for military use in World War II.

walkie-talkie British  
/ ˌwɔːkɪˈtɔːkɪ /

noun

  1. a small combined radio transmitter and receiver, usually operating on shortwave, that can be carried around by one person: widely used by the police, medical services, etc

"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 walkie-talkie

1935–40, walk, talk, -ie

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.

At one of the district's main entrances, an armed member of the government security forces was holding a walkie-talkie and a map of where his personnel were deployed.

From Barron's • Dec. 24, 2025

Left behind on the street outside the Louvre was the truck, a jerry can, a blowtorch, angle grinders, a walkie-talkie and yellow vests.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025

In contact with the bench by walkie-talkie, it was also the communication with his assistants, the sports scientist, the physio and the fitness coach that Allardyce saw the value in.

From BBC • Sep. 23, 2025

“If he’s grabbing the walkie-talkie, it’s something important.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2025

On the balcony of a hotel room at Watergate, Liddy set up a walkie-talkie antenna.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

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.