telephone

telephone — noun

1. a device that lets people in different places hear each other's voices by changi

1.nounA2
Definition

a device that lets people in different places hear each other's voices by changing sound into electronic signals and sending those signals through wires or through the air.

Example

Baraka picked up the hall telephone and dialled his mother to wish her happy birthday.

pick up the telephone / dial a number

Guests can use the telephone in the room to call the front desk.

Common collocations
  • answer the telephone
  • speak on the telephone
  • by telephone
  • the telephone rings
Synonyms
  • phone

    shorter, more common in everyday speech

  • landline

    specifically a telephone connected by wires, not wireless

Grammar Patterns

the telephone

by telephone

on the telephone

Usage Note

In everyday conversation, most speakers say 'phone' instead of 'telephone'. The full word 'telephone' is more frequent in formal writing and official documents.

Common Mistakes

I talked on telephone.
I talked on the telephone.
You usually need the article 'the' when talking about using the device as a system.

2. the part of a telephone that you hold up to your ear to listen and speak into, s

2.nounB1
Definition

the part of a telephone that you hold up to your ear to listen and speak into, separate from the main body of the device.

Example

Mateo lifted the telephone from its cradle and held it to his ear.

lift the telephone from its cradle / hold to ear

Lotte held the telephone between her ear and shoulder while writing down the doctor's instructions.

Common collocations
  • pick up the telephone
  • put down the telephone
  • hold the telephone
Synonyms
  • handset

    modern term for the part you hold

  • receiver

    focuses on the part that receives sound

Grammar Patterns

the telephone

pick up the telephone

Usage Note

This sense refers only to the hand-held part, not the whole telephone. In modern English, 'handset' or 'receiver' is often used instead.

Idioms

be on the telephone

idiom

To be using a phone to talk to someone.

Maya is on the telephone with her boss right now.

Were you on the telephone when I knocked?

telephone — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Telephone' is the full, formal term for the device used for voice communication over distances. 'Phone' is its everyday short form and is far more common in casual speech — people say 'phone' in almost all informal situations. 'Landline' refers specifically to a telephone connected by physical wires to a network, and is used to distinguish a fixed home or office phone from a mobile phone. 'Mobile phone' (or 'cell phone' in American English) refers to a portable telephone that works via wireless networks. In writing, 'telephone' fits formal letters and manuals, while 'phone' works for emails, texts, and conversation.

telephone ↗phone ↗landlinemobile phone

Common collocations

Nouns

  • telephone call
  • telephone number
  • telephone line
  • telephone bill

Phrases

  • on the telephone
  • by telephone

Prepositions

  • on the telephone
  • by telephone
  • over the telephone

Etymology

GreekEnglish

The word 'telephone' was created in the 1800s from two Greek parts: 'tele-' meaning 'far' or 'at a distance', and 'phone' meaning 'sound' or 'voice'. So it literally means 'far-sound' or 'voice from a distance'. The inventor Alexander Graham Bell is usually credited with making the first practical device of this kind in 1876.