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

• call
• dial
• ring (up) [chiefly British]
• 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

Nelson, who is an attorney with the Wisconsin State Public Defender's Fond du Lac County office, did not immediately respond to a reporter's phone call seeking comment. —Alec Johnson, Journal Sentinel, 16 Apr. 2024

The phone call was shared to X, formerly Twitter — the Fever's account shared Clark's side of the conversation while Holcomb tweeted his side. —Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 16 Apr. 2024

Was this a rather validating phone call and compliment to receive? Absolutely. —Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Apr. 2024

Hailey Bieber put a joint in her Rhode phone case Crafty! —Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 15 Apr. 2024

To share the story of your unsung hero with the Hidden Brain team, record a voice memo on your phone and send it to [e-mail]. —Laura Kwerel, NPR, 15 Apr. 2024

Texting photos and funny memes back and forth from your phone to hers would have been a good way to establish a connection. —Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 15 Apr. 2024

Or even saying it was shot on this type of film or shot on a phone or old VHS footage. —Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Apr. 2024

The 30-minute phone call came after seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen were killed in Israeli strikes. —Daniel Estrin, NPR, 4 Apr. 2024

Verb

Six months later Lieberman phoned Hadassah — the daughter of Holocaust survivors born in Czechoslovakia — and the two quickly bonded over their deep and sincere religious convictions. —Virginia Chamlee, Peoplemag, 28 Mar. 2024

But feel free to follow its social media pages or phone a friend in Gardner. —Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024

Suddenly, the mere act of following a person or brand gives them the right to phone you. —Barry Collins, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024

And although the ads have countless reminders to gamble sensibly and to phone for help as needed, there is clearly a generation being raised to regard gambling not as a subset of fandom but as the essence of fandom itself. —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2024

Soon after, Bell says, Schneider phoned him asking if the case was tied to the young actor. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 13 Mar. 2024

Angela Chao, the late sister-in-law of Mitch McConnell, reportedly phoned a friend for help as her vehicle became submerged in a pond on her Blanco County, Texas, ranch last month. —Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 10 Mar. 2024

The New York Police Department responded to the shelter at 31 Central Park North just after 11:30 a.m. after a caller phoned 911 to report the stabbing. —Louis Casiano, Fox News, 28 Feb. 2024

Police were only called after the woman faked a call to the man’s actual apartment managers and instead called her husband, who phoned authorities for help. —Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2024

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

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"