telephone

noun

(countable, telephony) A telecommunication device (originally mechanical, and now electronic) used for two-way talking with another person (now often shortened to phone).

(Canada, US, uncountable, figuratively) Chinese whispers; a situation in which an initial message has been distorted and misunderstood by being passed from person to person.

(Canada, US, uncountable) The game of Chinese whispers.

(countable, historical) The receiver of such a device.

verb

(ambitransitive) To (attempt to) contact someone using a telephone.

(transitive) To convey (a message) via telephone.

Roots

teletele- · Greek · far, distant phone-phone · Greek · sound, voice

Synonyms for telephone

phonen telephonyn callv radiotelephonen handsetn ringv

Synonyms & related words for telephone

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of telephone — including phone, telephony, call, radiotelephone, handset, ring. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to telephone

Explore words related to telephone — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include telephoner, telephonic, landline, telephonically, answerphone, payphone, telephonist, cellphone. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for telephone

Common synonyms for telephone include phone, telephony, call, radiotelephone, handset, ring — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does telephone come from?

The word telephone breaks down into 2 roots of Greek origin: tele-, from Greek tele (“far, distant”); and -phone, from Greek phone (“sound, voice”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.