landline

noun

land·​line ˈland-ˌlīn 

variants or less commonly land line

1

: a line of transportation or communication on land

especially : a telephone line that transmits signals from one station to another directly along a wire without the use of radio waves

It reminds me of the tipping point several years ago when people realized they no longer needed a telephone landline and would do just fine with their cell phones.

—Rana Foroohar

—often used before another noun

a landline phone

a landline network

2

: a telephone that connects by wire : a landline telephone

Of course, if you're really worried, you could ditch your cell phone for a quaint landline.

—Kiera Butler

Examples of landline in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This week, Steve Hilton, the GOP candidate for California governor, wrote a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, urging him to rescind the agency’s recent action allowing AT&T to end its copper landline service. — Jenny Jarvie follow, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026

The landline also served as a backup in case our cell phones weren’t working or out of reach. — Larry Magid, Mercury News, 9 July 2026

In a statement, an AT&T spokesperson said modern alternatives to copper hold up better during disasters and said landline service wouldn’t be discontinued until at least June 1, 2027. — Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 7 July 2026

The group alleged that as well as hacking their phones, journalists from the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday tapped landlines and bugged houses and cars. — K.j. Yossman, Variety, 7 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1865, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for landline

• affine
• airline
• align
• aline
• assign
• baseline
• beamline
• benign
• bloodline
• bovine
• brucine
• byline

Kids Definition

landline

noun

land·​line -ˌ(d)līn 

: a line of communication (as by telephone) consisting of a cable laid on land