cell phone
cell phone — noun
1. a small electronic device that uses radio signals instead of wires, allowing you
a small electronic device that uses radio signals instead of wires, allowing you to make calls, send text messages, and connect to the internet from many different places
Ziad used his cell phone to call for help when his car broke down.
cell phone + call for help (common emergency scenario)
Noa uses her cell phone to check the bus schedule every morning before school.
The librarian asked everyone to silence their cell phones before the talk began.
Sayaka dropped her cell phone in the pool and put it in rice overnight.
After Sari lost her wallet, she used her cell phone to call the bank.
- mobile phone
Chiefly British; more common in UK, Australia, and NZ
- smartphone
A cell phone with advanced computing abilities and apps — all smartphones are cell phones, but not all cell phones are smartphones
- handset
More formal; can refer to the whole device or the part held to the ear
- landline
A phone connected by wires to a fixed network
用法筆記
Common with possessive determiners (my cell phone, your cell phone). The British equivalent is mobile phone.
常見錯誤
2. a portable telephone that communicates through a network of base stations, each
a portable telephone that communicates through a network of base stations, each covering a small area called a cell, allowing calls to continue smoothly as the user moves between cells
Lin noticed her cell phone signal disappeared every time the train entered a long tunnel.
collocation: cell phone signal
Fatima held her cell phone above her head, hoping to catch a signal for an emergency call.
Omar asked the technician whether a new tower would improve cell phone reception in his area.
Renata checked the cell phone coverage map before hiking into the mountain area.
Hoa compared different cell phone plans before choosing one with unlimited data.
- mobile
Short form common in British English, used for the device and the network
- cellular telephone
Full formal term; emphasizes the cellular technology
用法筆記
Common in formal and technical writing about telecommunications. Distinguish from sense 1, which describes the everyday hand-held device; this sense emphasizes the infrastructure and network technology.