PHONE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does phone mean? 

• PHONE (noun)
  The noun PHONE has 3 senses:

1. electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds

2. (phonetics) an individual sound unit of speech without concern as to whether or not it is a phoneme of some language

3. electro-acoustic transducer for converting electric signals into sounds; it is held over or inserted into the ear

  Familiarity information: PHONE used as a noun is uncommon.

• PHONE (verb)
  The verb PHONE has 1 sense:

1. get or try to get into communication (with someone) by telephone

  Familiarity information: PHONE used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PHONE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

phone; telephone; telephone set

Context example:

I talked to him on the telephone

Hypernyms ("phone" is a kind of...):

electronic equipment (equipment that involves the controlled conduction of electrons (especially in a gas or vacuum or semiconductor))

Meronyms (parts of "phone"):

mouthpiece (an acoustic device; the part of a telephone into which a person speaks)

receiver; telephone receiver (earphone that converts electrical signals into sounds)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "phone"):

desk phone (a telephone set that sits on a desk or table)

dial phone; dial telephone (a telephone with a dial for registering the number to be called)

extension; extension phone; telephone extension (an additional telephone set that is connected to the same telephone line)

French telephone; handset (telephone set with the mouthpiece and earpiece mounted on a single handle)

pay-phone; pay-station (a coin-operated telephone)

radiophone; radiotelephone; wireless telephone (a telephone that communicates by radio waves rather than along cables)

speakerphone (a telephone with a microphone and loudspeaker; can be used without picking up a handset; several people can participate in a call at the same time)

Holonyms ("phone" is a part of...):

phone system; telephone system (a communication system that transmits sound between distant points)

Derivation:

phone (get or try to get into communication (with someone) by telephone)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(phonetics) an individual sound unit of speech without concern as to whether or not it is a phoneme of some language

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

phone; sound; speech sound

Hypernyms ("phone" is a kind of...):

language unit; linguistic unit (one of the natural units into which linguistic messages can be analyzed)

Domain category:

phonetics (the branch of acoustics concerned with speech processes including its production and perception and acoustic analysis)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "phone"):

phoneme ((linguistics) one of a small set of speech sounds that are distinguished by the speakers of a particular language)

vowel; vowel sound (a speech sound made with the vocal tract open)

glide; semivowel (a vowellike sound that serves as a consonant)

consonant (a speech sound that is not a vowel)

orinasal; orinasal phone (a speech sound produced with both the oral and nasal passages open (as French nasal vowels))

sonant; voiced sound (a speech sound accompanied by sound from the vocal cords)

Holonyms ("phone" is a part of...):

utterance; vocalization (the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication)

Derivation:

phonate (utter speech sounds)

phonetic (of or relating to the scientific study of speech sounds)

phonetic; phonic (of or relating to speech sounds)

phonic (relating to speech)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Electro-acoustic transducer for converting electric signals into sounds; it is held over or inserted into the ear

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

earphone; earpiece; headphone; phone

Context example:

it was not the typing but the earphones that she disliked

Hypernyms ("phone" is a kind of...):

electro-acoustic transducer (a transducer that converts electrical to acoustic energy or vice versa)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "phone"):

receiver; telephone receiver (earphone that converts electrical signals into sounds)

earplug (an earphone that is inserted into the ear canal)

• PHONE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they phone    ... he / she / it phones   
Past simple: phoned   
Past participle: phoned   
-ing form: phoning   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Get or try to get into communication (with someone) by telephone

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

call; call up; phone; ring; telephone

Context example:

Take two aspirin and call me in the morning

Hypernyms (to "phone" is one way to...):

telecommunicate (communicate over long distances, as via the telephone or e-mail)

"Phone" entails doing...:

dial (operate a dial to select a telephone number)

Verb group:

call (send a message or attempt to reach someone by radio, phone, etc.; make a signal to in order to transmit a message)

Domain category:

telephone; telephony (transmitting speech at a distance)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "phone"):

cell phone (call up by using a cellular phone)

call in (make a phone call)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence examples:

Sam cannot phone Sue
They phone

Derivation:

phone (electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds)

phoner (the person initiating a telephone call)

 Context examples 

It will be the perfect day to bring a smart phone app you designed to market, start a podcast series, or send your manuscript to your publisher.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Here we are going to measure this wireless phone and its base point.

(Health threats caused by mobile phone radiation, EUROPARL TV)

Those who spent the most time on tablets, phones and the TV had less white matter in their brain.

(Too Much Screen Time Changes Structure of Toddlers' Brains, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Current Opioid Misuse Measure (COMM) In the past 30 days, how often have you had to make an emergency phone call or show up at the clinic without an appointment?

(COMM - Emergency Phone Call or Clinic Visit, NCI Thesaurus)

Send a message or attempt to reach someone by radio, phone, etc.

(Call, NCI Thesaurus)

Some people worry that wireless and cellular phones cause cancer.

(Electromagnetic Fields, NIH: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)

"Called up the Morses. Miss Morse answered the 'phone. And here I am."

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

If we can get his bolster-cover round his arms and then 'phone up a stomach-pump, we'll give the old dear the supper of his life.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There is no time to gather valuables or make a phone call.

(Fires, Federal Emergency Management Agency)

The study found that the greatest crash risk came from visual distractions related to using cell phones and reaching for objects.

(Reaching for objects while driving may raise teen crash risk nearly sevenfold, National Institutes of Health)