as in dialing
to make a telephone call to
she phoned her friend to invite her over for dinner
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Recent Examples of phoning
There’s a difference, in other words, between doing the work, and phoning it in, just putting in a basic prompt and letting AI come up with, well, whatever.
—
John Werner, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026
Trump had lobbied for the plan, making at least two phone calls to Republican state Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey and also phoning in to a private meeting of Republican senators earlier this month.
—Kim Chandler, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2026
Mom was right — phoning it in should never be on the table.
—Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 13 May 2026
My sister, Louise, had spent hours perfecting the screechy, imperious cry of Starscream, only to use it when phoning the takeaway and ordering curry sauce and chips.
—Douglas Stuart, New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2026
Efforts to reach Das and Cooper — including by phoning numbers and sending letters to addresses that appeared to be associated with them — were unsuccessful.
—David Hilzenrath, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2026
Elordi is barely phoning it in.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 9 Apr. 2026
Toilet plumbing problems, email glitches and issues phoning home.
—Rufina Chow, NBC news, 3 Apr. 2026
Jamie Foxx stalking a Bellagio suite, phoning Wayne Gretzky, Kevin Garnett, and Barry Sanders for betting tips.
—Mckay Coppins, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2026
John Werner, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026
Trump had lobbied for the plan, making at least two phone calls to Republican state Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey and also phoning in to a private meeting of Republican senators earlier this month.
—Kim Chandler, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2026
Mom was right — phoning it in should never be on the table.
—Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 13 May 2026
My sister, Louise, had spent hours perfecting the screechy, imperious cry of Starscream, only to use it when phoning the takeaway and ordering curry sauce and chips.
—Douglas Stuart, New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2026
Efforts to reach Das and Cooper — including by phoning numbers and sending letters to addresses that appeared to be associated with them — were unsuccessful.
—David Hilzenrath, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2026
Elordi is barely phoning it in.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 9 Apr. 2026
Toilet plumbing problems, email glitches and issues phoning home.
—Rufina Chow, NBC news, 3 Apr. 2026
Jamie Foxx stalking a Bellagio suite, phoning Wayne Gretzky, Kevin Garnett, and Barry Sanders for betting tips.
—Mckay Coppins, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phoning
Verb
-
Herbert is dialing back his workload this year.—
Daniel Popper,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
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Those dialing Billings make content without revealing their mug.—
Andrew Zucker,
HollywoodReporter,
13 June 2026
Verb
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During a press conference last week, Lamont issued his own proposal to require that electric utilities seek regular approval to continue operating in Connecticut but stopped short of calling for a public takeover.—
John Moritz,
Hartford Courant,
20 June 2026
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Raccoons living in your home can be detrimental in a variety of ways, and calling a professional to help remove them is a good idea.—
Michelle Mastro,
Martha Stewart,
20 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Phoning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phoning. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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