What does "phone" mean?

1. (the device) a device you use to call people, send messages, or use the internet. 2. (to call someone) to call someone using a telephone. 3. (a unit of sound) a single sound in speech.

phone — meaning, definition & examples

Word

01the device

A1 · Beginner Countable noun

n. a device you use to call people, send messages, or use the internet.

n. an electronic device used for long-distance communication, including mobile smartphones and traditional landlines.

“I forgot my phone at home, so I couldn't call you back.”

“The ubiquity of the mobile phone has fundamentally altered how people coordinate social gatherings and manage their daily schedules.”

Synonyms

telephone cellphone mobile

02to call someone

A1 · Beginner

v. to call someone using a telephone.

v. to contact or communicate with a person via telephone; functions as both a transitive and intransitive verb.

“I will phone you as soon as I arrive at the airport.”

“The manager promised to phone the client personally to resolve the billing discrepancy before the end of the business day.”

Synonyms

call ring telephone

03a unit of sound

C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Science Technical

n. a single sound in speech.

n. a speech segment that possesses distinct physical or perceptual properties, considered as a physical event.

“Linguists study each phone to understand how humans produce different sounds.”

“In phonetic analysis, a phone is the smallest identifiable unit of sound in a stream of speech, distinct from the abstract phoneme.”

Usage

Used in phonetics to describe sounds regardless of their function in a specific language's phonology.

Teaching tip

This is a highly specialized term in linguistics; learners should not confuse it with 'phoneme'.

Synonyms

speech sound

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁-der. Ancient Greek τῆλε (têle)lbor. French télé- Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂-der. Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ)der. French -phone French téléphonebor. English telephone English phone Clipping of telephone; first attested in 1884.