telephonist
/təˈlefənɪst/ (bre, ipa) · /təˈlefənɪst/ (ame, ipa) · /tə-ˈle-fə-nist How to pronounce telephonist (audio) ˈte-lə-ˌfō-nist How to pronounce telephonist (audio)/ (ame, mw)
telephonist — noun
- telephonistsingular
- telephonistsplural
1. someone whose job is to answer and connect phone calls using a special board wit
someone whose job is to answer and connect phone calls using a special board with many phone lines, usually in a large office, hotel, or telephone exchange
The hotel telephonist connected Lucía's call to the manager's office right away.
hotel telephonist + connect [someone's] call
Before the internet, a large company often needed several telephonists to manage all incoming calls.
Kasia worked as a telephonist at a busy city hospital for almost ten years.
A telephonist must stay calm and clear when connecting each caller to the right person.
In a hotel, the night telephonist took urgent calls from guests in other time zones.
- switchboard operator
more widely understood in both US and UK; less formal than 'telephonist'
- operator
shorter and more common in everyday speech; also used for non-telephone machinery
- call center agent
modern equivalent; works with computer-managed calls instead of a physical switchboard
文法句型
work as a telephonist
hotel / office / hospital telephonist
用法筆記
This word sounds somewhat dated in modern English. In everyday conversation, 'operator' or 'switchboard operator' is more common, especially in the US.