phone
pronunciation
How to pronounce phone in British English:
UK [fəʊn]
How to pronounce phone in American English:
US [foʊn]
-
- Noun:
- electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
- (phonetics) an individual sound unit of speech without concern as to whether or not it is a phoneme of some language
- electro-acoustic transducer for converting electric signals into sounds; it is held over or inserted into the ear
-
- Verb:
- get or try to get into communication (with someone) by telephone
Word Origin
- phone
- phone: [20] Phone is of course short for telephone [19], a compound word formed from Greek tēle- ‘far off’ and phōné ‘voice, sound’ (a descendant of the Indo-European base *bha- ‘speak’, and related to English fable, fame, fate, etc). Other English words derived from or based on phōné include gramophone, megaphone [19], microphone, phonetic [19], phonology [18], saxophone, and xylophone.=> fable, fame, fate
- phone (n.1)
- 1884, shortening of telephone (n.). Phone book first recorded 1925; phone booth 1927; phone bill 1901.
- phone (v.)
- 1884, from phone (n.). Related: Phoned; phoning.
- phone (n.2)
- "elementary sound of a spoken language," 1866, from Greek phone "sound, voice," from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say" (see fame (n.)).
Example
- 1. I can bullshit on the phone too ! "
- 2. It had cheap veneer furniture and ken iverson would , of course , answer his own phone .
- 3. For many , the mobile device is quickly becoming their only phone .
- 4. On top of that , phone and touchpad sales were flagging .
- 5. Standing while talking on the phone will make your voice sound more urgent .