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

The company has been pursuing eliminating its entire legacy copper landline system across the state to replace it with advanced fiber optic networks. —Steve Large, CBS News, 18 June 2026

Cell service is spotty, so inhabitants often communicate using landlines and walkie-talkies. —Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 18 June 2026

Carrier of Last Resort rules require phone companies to provide landline telephone service to any potential customer in their service territory. —Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 17 June 2026

At the time, consumer group The Utility Reform Network estimated hundreds of thousands of households in the Bay Area and millions around California would lose landline service if the commission approved AT&T’s proposal. —Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 17 June 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