on the phone
idiom
1
: using a telephone to talk to someone
Can you see who's at the door? I'm on the phone.
I was on the phone with my sister until late last night.
2
British
: connected to a telephone system
How many households aren't on the phone?
Examples of on the phone in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
One man was filmed by a local television station on the phone with emergency dispatchers, alerting them that people were getting hurt.
—
Serge F. Kovaleski, New York Times, 12 May 2024
Le Caire started as a case manager and Arabic translator for her first client, a Yemeni woman, though the two eventually developed a mother-daughter relationship after talking on the phone everyday.
—Solcyré Burga, TIME, 12 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for on the phone 
Serge F. Kovaleski, New York Times, 12 May 2024
Le Caire started as a case manager and Arabic translator for her first client, a Yemeni woman, though the two eventually developed a mother-daughter relationship after talking on the phone everyday.
—Solcyré Burga, TIME, 12 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for on the phone
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'on the phone.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near on the phone
Cite this Entry
“On the phone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/on%20the%20phone. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
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