telephone
Plural: telephones
Noun
- electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
- "I talked to him on the telephone"
- transmitting speech at a distance
- A telecommunication device (originally mechanical, and now electronic) used for two-way talking with another person (now often shortened to phone).
- The receiver of such a device.
- The game of Chinese whispers.
- Chinese whispers; a situation in which an initial message has been distorted and misunderstood by being passed from person to person.
Verb
- get or try to get into communication (with someone) by telephone
- To (attempt to) contact someone using a telephone.
- To convey (a message) via telephone.
Origin / Etymology
First used by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 to refer to the modern instrument, but previous devices had been given this name, which was borrowed from French téléphone. Ultimately from Ancient Greek τῆλε (têle, “afar”) + φωνή (phōnḗ, “voice, sound”).
Synonyms
call, call up, phone, ring, telephone set, telephony, Ameche, blower, dial up, dog and bone, drop a line, get on the horn, give someone a bell, give someone a buzz, give someone a call, give someone a jingle, give someone a ring, give someone a tinkle, horn, pipe, ring up, telephone
Scrabble Score: 14
telephone: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordtelephone: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
telephone: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary