on the phone
idiom
1
: using a telephone to talk to someone
Can you see who's at the door? I'm on the phone.
I was on the phone with my sister until late last night.
2
British
: connected to a telephone system
How many households aren't on the phone?
Examples of on the phone in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This results in longer delays for taxpayers, not only on the phone but also in processing paper submissions and resolving account issues.
—
Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
But Breelove later spoke on the phone with a woman in a CMPD interview room and said the gun was gone.
—Charlotte Observer, 28 Jan. 2026
It's estimated that California lost more than $20 billion to pandemic unemployment fraud when EDD issued billions in fraudulent payments to criminals while out-of-work Californians struggled to get an EDD rep on the phone, let alone get paid.
—Julie Watts, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026
The post included suggestions about what to say on the phone when speaking to representatives in Congress.
—Sarah Sotoodeh , Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for on the phone
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Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
But Breelove later spoke on the phone with a woman in a CMPD interview room and said the gun was gone.
—Charlotte Observer, 28 Jan. 2026
It's estimated that California lost more than $20 billion to pandemic unemployment fraud when EDD issued billions in fraudulent payments to criminals while out-of-work Californians struggled to get an EDD rep on the phone, let alone get paid.
—Julie Watts, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026
The post included suggestions about what to say on the phone when speaking to representatives in Congress.
—Sarah Sotoodeh , Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for on the phone
Cite this Entry
“On the phone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/on%20the%20phone. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
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