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  • phone
    phone
    noun
    telephone.
  • -phone
    -phone
    a combining form meaning “speech sound” (homophone ), “an instrument of sound transmission or reproduction” (telephone ), “a musical instrument” (saxophone; xylophone ).
Synonyms

phone

1 American  
[fohn] / foʊn /

noun

  1. telephone.

  2. a portable electronic telephone device, as a cell phone, mobile phone, or smartphone.

verb (used with object)

phoned, phoning

  1. to speak to or summon (a person) by telephone.

  2. to send (a message) by telephone.

verb (used without object)

phoned, phoning

  1. to send a message by telephone.

phone 2 American  
[fohn] / foʊn /

noun

Phonetics.

  1. a speech sound.

    There are three phonetically different “t” phones in an utterance of “titillate,” and two in an utterance of “tattletale.”
-phone 3 American  

  1. a combining form meaning “speech sound” (homophone ), “an instrument of sound transmission or reproduction” (telephone ), “a musical instrument” (saxophone; xylophone ).

-phone 1 British  

combining form

  1. (forming nouns) indicating voice, sound, or a device giving off sound

    microphone

    telephone

  2. (forming nouns and adjectives) (a person) speaking a particular language

    Francophone
"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
phone 2 British  
/ fəʊn /

noun

  1. short for telephone

"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
phone 3 British  
/ fəʊn /

noun

  1. phonetics a single uncomplicated speech sound

"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

Other Word Forms

  • -phonic combining form
  • phonal adjective

Etymology

Origin of phone1

First recorded in 1880–85; by shortening

Origin of phone2

First recorded in 1865–70, phone is from the Greek word phōnḗ voice

Origin of -phone3

see origin at phone 2

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But Burke allegedly drove to Lake Elsinore and paid a junior high school student $1,000 to give her a new phone so they could stay in touch, according to the document filed Wednesday.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

And what better indication of the demise of the spontaneous phone call can be found?

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

But Mrs Justice Tipples said there was no contemporaneous evidence demonstrating the condition of the phone immediately before or after the incident.

From BBC • May 1, 2026

While making his way through the ballroom he came across reporters ducking for cover and some jockeying for position with their phone cameras.

From Salon • May 1, 2026

Taking out my phone to update my mom, I trail after Ben through the exit.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.