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

But those stopped last week, when Iranian authorities imposed a near-total internet blackout, at the same time that calls to telephone landlines were also failing to connect. —Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan. 2026

Amid an internet blackout, some Iranians used landline phones to inform relatives of lethal force being used against protesters. —J.d. Capelouto, semafor.com, 13 Jan. 2026

Still, the McAlarneys felt that the colorful, easy-to-use landline could turn necessary phone time into something both fun and nostalgically charming for their daughter. —Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 11 Jan. 2026

Price suggests using a landline to help children develop conversational skills, encouraging them to use the phone to check in with grandparents or chat with friends. —Gili Malinsky, CNBC, 11 Jan. 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
• 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