telephone
an apparatus, system, or process for transmission of sound or speech to a distant point, especially by an electric device.
to speak to or summon (a person) by telephone.
to send (a message) by telephone.
to send a message by telephone.
Origin of telephone
1- Also phone.
Other words from telephone
- tel·e·phon·er, noun
- pre·tel·e·phone, adjective
- re·tel·e·phone, verb, re·tel·e·phoned, re·tel·e·phon·ing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for telephone
/ (ˈtɛlɪˌfəʊn) /
Also called: telephone set an electrical device for transmitting speech, consisting of a microphone and receiver mounted on a handset
(as modifier): a telephone receiver
a worldwide system of communications using telephones. The microphone in one telephone converts sound waves into electrical signals that are transmitted along a telephone wire or by radio to one or more distant sets, the receivers of which reconvert the incoming signal into the original sound
(as modifier): a telephone exchange; a telephone call
See telephone box
to call or talk to (a person) by telephone
to transmit (a recorded message, radio or television programme, or other information) by telephone, using special transmitting and receiving equipment
- Often shortened to: phone
Derived forms of telephone
- telephoner, noun
- telephonic (ˌtɛlɪˈfɒnɪk), adjective
- telephonically, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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