phones

IPA/fəʊn/
KK[fˈonz]IPA/foʊn/

phones — noun

  • phonessingular
  • phonesesplural

1. a piece of electronic equipment that uses wires or radio signals to let you spea

1.nounA1
Definition

a piece of electronic equipment that uses wires or radio signals to let you speak to someone who is in a different place

Example

Emre picked up the phone and called his mother to say he would be late.

collocation: pick up the phone

The phone on Marta's desk rang three times before she answered it.

subject: the phone on [person]'s desk

Common collocations
  • pick up the phone
  • answer the phone
  • put down the phone
  • phone rings
Synonyms
  • telephone

    the full, more formal form of 'phone'

  • handset

    specifically the part of a phone you hold to your ear and mouth

Usage Note

Countable. Often used with 'the' when referring to a specific device ('the phone on the wall') or as an uncountable abstraction when referring to the system ('by phone', 'over the phone').

Common Mistakes

I told him phone.
I told him by phone.
'by phone' is the correct adverbial phrase; you cannot drop the preposition.

2. the act of communicating with someone by calling them on a telephone

2.nounA1
Definition

the act of communicating with someone by calling them on a telephone

Example

Lan sorted out the hotel booking by phone instead of going to the office.

pattern: by phone (method adverbial)

Ava was on the phone with her brother for almost an hour last night.

pattern: on the phone with [person]

Common collocations
  • by phone
  • on the phone
  • over the phone
Synonyms
  • telephone call

    a more formal noun phrase for the same concept

  • call

    shorter and more informal, used as both noun and verb

Grammar Patterns

by phone

on the phone

Usage Note

Uncountable. Used only in the prepositional phrases 'by phone' and 'on the phone'. Cannot be used with an article (*a phone* for the activity) or in plural.

Common Mistakes

I will contact you phone.
I will contact you by phone.
the preposition 'by' is required.

3. a telephone that is connected to a network by wires inside a building, rather th

3.nounA2
Definition

a telephone that is connected to a network by wires inside a building, rather than using mobile signals

Example

Faisal still keeps a landline phone in his apartment for emergencies.

collocation: landline phone

The landline stopped working after the storm damaged the cables outside.

Common collocations
  • landline phone
  • landline number
  • landline service
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • mobile phone

    a portable phone that uses cellular signals rather than wires

Usage Note

Often modifies another noun as 'landline phone' or 'landline number'. Contrasts with 'mobile phone' / 'cell phone'.

4. the state of spending time on a mobile device doing things like texting, playing

4.nounA2
Definition

the state of spending time on a mobile device doing things like texting, playing games, browsing websites, or watching videos, often when you should be paying attention to people or events around you

Example

The teacher told the students to put their phones away during the lesson.

collocation: put [possessive] phone away

A teenager on the bus was on her phone the whole journey, scrolling through videos.

pattern: on [possessive] phone

Common collocations
  • on [possessive] phone
  • put [possessive] phone away
  • check [possessive] phone

Grammar Patterns

on [possessive] phone

Usage Note

Informal. The phrase 'on your phone' describes using it for entertainment or communication. This sense overlaps with sense 2 but is specific to mobile devices used for many purposes beyond calls.

Common Mistakes

He was at his phone all day.
He was on his phone all day.
use 'on', not 'at', when describing the activity.

5. a single, physically distinct unit of speech sound that is studied in phonetics,

5.nounC1
Definition

a single, physically distinct unit of speech sound that is studied in phonetics, considered without regard to whether it changes the meaning of a word

Example

Linguistics students learn to identify each phone by where in the mouth it is produced.

domain: linguistics / phonetics

The word 'butter' contains four distinct phones in most standard English accents.

Common collocations
  • distinct phone
  • identify a phone
  • transcribe a phone
  • phone inventory
Synonyms
  • speech sound

    a non-technical term for the same concept, easier for general readers

  • segment

    another technical term for an individual phone in the speech stream

Usage Note

Technical term in phonetics. Distinct from 'phoneme', which is a sound unit that makes a difference in meaning between words (e.g. /p/ and /b/ in 'pat' vs 'bat'). A phone is the physical sound itself, regardless of meaning.

Common Mistakes

The word cat has three phonemes.' (when meaning speech sounds)
The word cat has three phones.
'phoneme' refers to meaning-distinguishing sounds in a language; 'phone' is any physically produced speech sound.

6. a device worn over or placed inside the ears that turns electrical signals into

6.nounA2
Definition

a device worn over or placed inside the ears that turns electrical signals into sound, allowing you to listen to music, calls, or other audio without other people hearing it

Example

The passenger put on her phones and listened to music during the flight.

collocation: put on [possessive] phones

A musician took off his phones after checking the final recording of the song.

Common collocations
  • put on phones
  • take off phones
  • a pair of phones
  • wireless phones
Synonyms
  • headphones

    the full, more common term for over-ear audio devices

  • earphones

    small devices that sit inside the ear rather than over it

  • headset

    headphones that also include a microphone

Usage Note

Used in plural form only. Informally shortened from 'headphones' or 'earphones'. Often paired with 'a pair of phones' when referring to a single unit.

Common Mistakes

I bought a new phone.' (when meaning headphones)
I bought a new pair of phones.
use 'pair of' to avoid confusion with the telephone device.

phones — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Phone' and 'telephone' refer to the same device, but 'phone' is shorter and far more common in everyday speech, while 'telephone' sounds more formal or old-fashioned. 'Handset' means the part of a phone you hold to your ear and mouth, and is also used for the whole device in some professional contexts ('the office handset'). 'Mobile' (British) and 'cell phone' (American) refer specifically to portable phones that work wirelessly, while 'smartphone' adds the idea of internet capability and apps. In casual conversation, 'phone' can cover any of these: someone might say 'my phone' whether they mean a landline or a mobile. But in formal writing, 'telephone' is still preferred for the traditional wired device, and 'mobile phone' or 'smartphone' for the portable kind.

phone ↗telephone ↗handset ↗mobile ↗smartphone ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • phone call
  • phone number
  • phone line
  • phone book
  • phone bill

Phrases

  • answer the phone
  • pick up the phone
  • put down the phone
  • get on the phone
  • be on the phone

Prepositions

  • by phone
  • on the phone
  • over the phone
  • through the phone

Etymology

GreekFrenchEnglish

The word 'phone' is a shortening of 'telephone', which was borrowed from French 'téléphone', coined from the Greek elements τῆλε (tēle, 'far, at a distance') and φωνή (phōnē, 'sound, voice'). The word was first used in the 1830s for a different sound device, and then applied to Alexander Graham Bell's invention in 1876. The combining form '-phone' (as in 'headphone', 'microphone', 'saxophone') also comes from the Greek φωνή (phōnē), meaning 'sound' or 'voice'.

First known use

1880

1880, in the meaning defined at sense 1a Verb