landline

noun

land·line | \ ˈland-ˌlīn

variants: or less commonly land line

Definition of landline

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

Many student loan borrowers and millennials taking out a mortgage only have a cell phone, not a landline. — Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, "Could a tsunami of robocalls be heading to our cell phones?," 5 July 2018 The existing 911 system was designed for a time when everyone used landlines and call operators could easily pinpoint phones’ locations. — Ciara Nugent, Time, "Your iPhone Will Soon Send Your Exact Location to First Responders When You Call 911," 18 June 2018 The surcharge on telecom wireless and landline services—which last year was 6.68%—would be extended to the fees that companies charge for texting. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "California’s New Tax on Texting," 14 Dec. 2018 My landline, mobile and internet cost me $35 a month for ample basic service. — Albion Land, WSJ, "If You’re Thinking About Retiring in Spain," 20 Nov. 2018 With no access to landlines, the characters in those movies were so removed from help or contact with the outside world, they might as well have been stranded on the Moon. — Tasha Robinson, The Verge, "Modern horror films are finding their scares in dead phone batteries," 16 Aug. 2018 The Pew survey was conducted by telephone, including cellphones and landlines, June 5-12 among 2,002 American adults. — David Lauter, latimes.com, "Despite Trump's crackdown, Americans are more sympathetic to immigrants, poll shows," 28 June 2018 The survey used random digital dialing to reach landlines, and randomized respondents into two groups. — Alastair Iain Johnston, Washington Post, "Beijing wants Taiwanese to identify as Chinese. But how do Taiwanese really feel?," 4 June 2018 Unlike mobile voice and traditional landlines, the cable industry's VoIP phone systems haven't been classified as a common carrier service. — Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, "AT&T will ask Supreme Court to cripple the FTC’s authority over broadband," 7 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'landline.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.