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

Nancy shared a sweet story about an interaction with the late Eddie Van Halen that involved an acoustic guitar, a hotel landline and the guitarist’s musical aptitude. —Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 3 June 2025

In 2016, Verizon completed a $10.5 billion deal to sell its TV and internet landline businesses in California, Texas and Florida to Frontier. —Todd Spangler, Variety, 16 May 2025

There are mechanisms in place — SCIFs or sensitive compartmented information facilities and secure landlines for that. —S.e. Cupp, New York Daily News, 27 Mar. 2025

There's little cell service here, but each cabin has a landline to reach both the property management and 911, if necessary. —Heather Bien, Southern Living, 17 May 2025

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
• byline
• canine

Kids Definition

landline

noun

land·​line -ˌ(d)līn 

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