What does telephone mean?
A telephone is a device or system that carries speech between people who are separated by distance. The word can refer to the equipment itself, the service, or, by extension, an individual telephone call. In everyday conversation, telephone is often replaced by the shorter and more familiar phone. As a verb, telephone means to call someone using a telephone; this usage sounds formal or traditional, particularly in British English, while many American speakers prefer call. Telephone is also used attributively in familiar combinations such as telephone number and telephone line. Historically, the word belongs to a family including telephony, telephonic, and telephonist. Although mobile and internet-based calls have transformed its use, the basic sense remains recognizable: a means of transmitting spoken communication. The term evokes both the practical technology of long-distance contact and, in older contexts, the social importance of receiving news or maintaining relationships through a voice heard over a line.
A device or system for transmitting speech over a distance; also, by extension, a telephone call.
"The telephone on the desk rang just before noon."
The word can denote the physical device, the communication service, or an individual call, depending on context.
To call or communicate with someone using a telephone.
"She telephoned the clinic to confirm the appointment."
This is a formal or traditional verb, especially common in British English; call is the usual conversational alternative.
The plural is formed regularly by adding -s. As an attributive modifier, telephone normally remains singular.
"The reception desk has several telephones for visitors."
Telephone means “far sound” in Greek—and its name promised a revolution: carrying a human voice across distances that once seemed impossible.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does telephone come from?
Telephone entered English through French téléphone, a compound of Greek roots meaning “far” and “sound” or “voice.” The word was already in use during the nineteenth century for communication systems intended to transmit speech and became closely associated with Alexander Graham Bell's telephone work and his 1876 patent. Its later derivatives, including telephony and telephonic, preserve the same combination of distance and transmitted sound.
Related word forms
How telephone is actually used
As a verb, telephone is formal or traditional, especially in British English; conversational American English normally uses call. British speakers commonly pronounce it /ˈtɛlɪfəʊn/, while the usual American pronunciation has /oʊ/ in the final syllable.
Easily confused with telephone
Telephone is usually an individual device or a call, whereas telephony refers to the technology, service, or system of transmitting speech by telephone.