handset

noun

hand·​set ˈhan(d)-ˌset How to pronounce handset (audio)
: a combined telephone transmitter and receiver mounted on a handheld device

Examples of handset in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web When the government last year banned Apple’s iPhone 14 and 15 from the Islamic Republic, the ban spurred a parallel economy for the older handsets, jacking up prices for the devices as many sought to put their depreciating Iranian rials into any physical commodity. Nasser Karimi, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Feb. 2024 Damon spends the movie neck-cradling a handset and, if Messina is howling at him on the other end, holding it at a comical distance and grimacing. Wesley Morris, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2024 The change in ranking comes after a tough year that saw consumers going slow on smartphone upgrades and choosing cheaper handsets due to high inflation and economic uncertainties. Reuters, NBC News, 17 Jan. 2024 That doesn’t mean the Galaxy Z Fold 6 camera will be ignored, but there will not be an automatic rush to lift the camera from the S24 family and drop it into the foldable handset. Ewan Spence, Forbes, 18 Feb. 2024 If your phone can’t be unlocked, your apps and accounts are safe—though someone else could still reset your handset and use it for themselves. David Nield, Popular Science, 14 Feb. 2024 Haptic generators in handsets typically are linear resonant actuators, which are electrically and mechanically like speakers but are optimized to create low-frequency vibrations in a solid rather than sound waves in the air. IEEE Spectrum, 11 Feb. 2024 That said, there’s nothing wrong with opting for a competent midrange phone over the latest and greatest handset, which is what makes today’s discount on the Google Pixel 7A worth noting. Brandon Widder, The Verge, 9 Jan. 2024 Apple is planning to ramp up iPhone production in India, with plans to produce as many as 50 million handsets in the country in the next few years, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal citing anonymous sources. Rachyl Jones, Fortune, 8 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'handset.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1901, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of handset was in 1901

Dictionary Entries Near handset

Cite this Entry

“Handset.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/handset. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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