Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Jump To:
  • yellow pages
    yellow pages
    plural noun
    a classified telephone directory or section of a directory, listing subscribers by the type of business or service they offer, usually printed on yellow paper.
  • Yellow Pages
    Yellow Pages
    plural noun
    a classified telephone directory, often printed on yellow paper, that lists subscribers by the business or service provided
Synonyms

yellow pages

American  

plural noun

(often initial capital letters)
  1. a classified telephone directory or section of a directory, listing subscribers by the type of business or service they offer, usually printed on yellow paper.


Yellow Pages British  

plural noun

  1. a classified telephone directory, often printed on yellow paper, that lists subscribers by the business or service provided

"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 yellow pages

First recorded in 1950–55

Compare meaning

How does yellow-pages compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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:

Facebook didn’t buy yellow pages or local newspapers.

From The Wall Street Journal Jan. 11, 2026

Once they summon their courage, though, the gravest infraction they can commit starts with leafing through the yellow pages, in search of a nursing home.

From New York Times Oct. 19, 2021

It was tied into the advertising it was doing in the yellow pages.

From The Verge Jun. 8, 2021

Later a hand is seen caressing weathered and yellow pages with a star symbol.

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 14, 2017

There was something here, some truth buried in these brittle yellow pages, if only he could see it.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

New York City’s telephone company in 1886 published the first Yellow Pages directory of business phone numbers—creating a nearly friction-free way for merchants and customers to find one another.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 15, 2025

I would have had to consult the Yellow Pages, or more likely, call Information — something my parents frowned upon because of the toll.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 2, 2024

He was inspired by seeing the starry sky, but the title came as he spotted the Yellow Pages across the room.

From BBC Mar. 25, 2024

Or maybe looked it up in an outdated Yellow Pages phonebook they found in the back closet.

From Washington Times Jun. 16, 2022

So I invented a Black Box Yellow Pages, which is a phone book that’s made out of the material that they make the black boxes on airplanes out of.

From "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training