telephone

1 of 2

noun

tele·​phone ˈte-lə-ˌfōn 

plural telephones

: 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)) : phone

The telephone rang.

We spoke by telephone.

a telephone call

: such as

a

: a telephone that operates by means of a landline

… an old-fashioned corded telephone. The kind that plugs right into the wall phone jack.

—Eliot Kleinberg

b

: cell phone

In a day when most of us have a telephone in our back pocket … the need for a pay phone no longer exists.

—Paul Connor

telephone

2 of 2

verb

telephoned; telephoning

transitive verb

1

: to speak to or attempt to reach by telephone

2

: to send by telephone

intransitive verb

: to communicate by telephone

telephoner noun

Synonyms

Verb

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

Examples of telephone in a Sentence

Noun

I just have to make a quick telephone call before we leave.

You can order the cake over the telephone.

The telephone has been ringing all morning!

She picked up the telephone and dialed the number.

He slammed down the telephone.

They hired someone to answer the telephones.

All our telephones are cordless.

I left the telephone off the hook.

Verb

He telephoned me to say that he was going to be late.

He telephoned to say that he was going to be late.

You never write or telephone.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Resource and Referral Service – Available Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Seniors and their family members can speak with a staff member in person or by telephone and receive valuable information to address a wide variety of needs. —Kris Slugg, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 June 2025

Newsweek contacted the White House and Susman Godfrey for comment on Saturday outside of regular office hours via email and telephone respectively. —James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 June 2025

Verb

After receiving complaints about prostitution, Capt. John Scott telephoned the business and spoke with an unknown man, according to court documents. —Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 4 June 2025

Long wait times became a self-fulfilling prophecy In recent weeks, news of the turmoil at Social Security mobilized fretful Americans to telephone or visit the agency, seeding further chaos. —Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 1 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1864, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1877, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing telephone

• cellular telephone
• down the telephone
• French telephone
• on the telephone
• screen one's (telephone/phone) calls
• telephone book
• telephone booth
• telephone box
• telephone directory
• telephone number
• telephone pole
• telephone tag
• wireless telephone

Rhymes for telephone

• acetone
• anglophone
• baritone
• bourguignon
• buspirone
• chaperon
• chaperone
• cobblestone
• collarbone
• cornerstone
• cortisone
• dictaphone

Kids Definition

telephone

1 of 2 noun

tele·​phone ˈtel-ə-ˌfōn 

: any of several devices for transmitting and receiving sounds over long distances by electricity

telephone

2 of 2 verb

telephoned; telephoning

1

: to communicate by telephone

2

: to send by telephone

3

: to speak to by telephone