phone

1 of 5

noun (1)

ˈfōn 

plural phones

1

: a device by which sound (such as speech) is converted into electrical impulses and transmitted (as by wire or radio waves) to one or more specific receivers (see receiver sense d(1)) : telephone

Once it was as simple as this. I sat at my desk. The phone rang. I answered it.

—Malcolm Gladwell

received a phone call

: such as

a

: a telephone that operates by means of a landline

… the phone is in the front hall; this is an old-fashioned house …

—Alice Munro

b

: cell phone

… Dick got a call on his cell phone. Roxy grabbed the phone and answered.

—Mary-Anne Olmsted-Kohls

especially : smartphone

I have set an alert on my phone to make sure I don't forget a friend's birthday …

—Mike Vaccaro

2

: a device that converts electrical energy into sound waves and is worn over or inserted into the ear : earphone, headphone

The morning the "Smoking Gun" tape was played, tickets were so scarce that one couple from Kansas City, Mo., doubled up on earphones, she listening to the left, he to the right phone.

—Louise Sweeney

… taking off these RHA headphones and placing the Dr. Dre phones on my head, I realized the more expensive headphones did sound somewhat cleaner …

—Charlie White

phone

2 of 5

verb

phoned; phoning

: telephone

phone

3 of 5

noun (2)

: a speech sound considered as a physical event without regard to its place in the sound system of a language

-phone

4 of 5

noun combining form

plural -phones

1

: sound-transmitting device

microphone

radiophone

2

: musical instrument

xylophone

3

: speech sound

homophone

: symbol representing a speech sound

polyphone

4

: speaker of (a specified language)

Francophone

-phone

5 of 5

adjective combining form

: of or relating to a population that speaks (a specified language)

Francophone

Synonyms

Verb

• dial
• call
• telephone

Examples of phone in a Sentence

Verb

Someone from the newspaper will be phoning with a few questions.

she phoned her friend to invite her over for dinner

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Is someone making countless phone calls or sending out individual emails to get accurate information on time? —Bek Abdullayev, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025

As folks were enjoying their Juneteenth weekends, push notifications flooded phones reading that President Donald Trump fired missiles against Iran. —Essence, 24 June 2025

Verb

On April 22, Trump told Time magazine that Xi had phoned him — an assertion that Beijing quickly denied. —Linggong Kong, The Conversation, 10 June 2025

The lamp doesn’t work, but when Adam phones the customer service line for help, the upbeat voice on the other end of the line suddenly fills him with hope and possibility in the face of catastrophe. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 18 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

by shortening

Verb

derivative of phone entry 1

Noun (2)

borrowed from Greek phōnḗ "voice, speech" — more at phono-

Noun combining form

borrowed from Greek -phōnos "having a sound (of the kind or number specified)," derivative of phōnḗ "sound made by something living, voice, speech, utterance"; (sense 4) borrowed from French, borrowed from Greek -phōnos — more at phono-

Adjective combining form

borrowed from French — more at -phone entry 1

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1880, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1885, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

circa 1866, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing phone

• burner phone
• cell phone
• cell phone lot
• cell phone parking lot
• courtesy phone
• flip phone
• get the phone
• mobile phone
• on the phone
• over the phone
• pay phone
• phone book
• phone booth
• phone box
• phone card
• phone directory
• phone-in
• phone sex
• phone tag
• phone tapping
• put down the phone
• put the phone down on (someone)
• screen one's (telephone/phone) calls
• smart phone

Rhymes for phone

• blown
• clone
• cone
• crone
• drone
• flown
• acetone
• anglophone
• baritone
• bourguignon
• buspirone
• chaperon

Kids Definition

phone

1 of 3 noun

ˈfōn 

1

: headphone

2

: telephone entry 1

3

smartphone

phone

2 of 3 verb

phoned; phoning

: telephone entry 2

-phone

3 of 3 noun combining form

ˌfōn

: sound

homophone

—often in names of musical instruments and sound-sending devices

radiophone

xylophone

Etymology

Noun combining form

from Greek phōnē "voice, sound"