on the telephone

phrase

1

: using a telephone to talk to someone

He came to the door while I was on the telephone.

2

British : connected to a telephone system

the percentage of households on the telephone

Examples of on the telephone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2024, the average wait time on the telephone sometimes approached 40 minutes. — Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 26 July 2026

Babs Osborne, huddled on the telephone in the doorkeeper’s cubicle, was attempting, yet again, to get through to Stanislaus. — Literary Hub, 13 Mar. 2026

When Mom reached Dad on the telephone in the White House pantry to commiserate over the earth-shattering news, Dad’s response was disbelieving. — John Wrory Ficklin, Time, 11 Feb. 2026

Nobody wanted to talk on the telephone anymore, but chefs and restaurant managers didn’t exactly know how to build their own websites and payment portals. — Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 27 Oct. 2025

Rhymes for on the telephone

• amiodarone
• corticosterone
• hydrocortisone
• phenylbutazone
• acetone
• anglophone
• baritone
• bourguignon
• buspirone
• chaperon
• chaperone
• cobblestone