What does "telephone" mean?

1. (communication device) a piece of equipment used for talking to someone in a different place. 2. (the game) a game where a message is whispered from person to person and usually changes by the end. 3. (to call someone) to call someone using a telephone.

How do you use "telephone"?

Often shortened to 'phone' in modern everyday English. Uncountable in this sense. Can be used with or without a direct object.

telephone

n. · v.

US //ˈtɛɫəˌfoʊn// UK //tˈɛlɪfˌəʊn// tele·phone

1 communication device (n.)
A1 Beginner

a piece of equipment used for talking to someone in a different place.

a telecommunication device used for two-way voice communication over distances.

Example

The telephone on the desk rang loudly while I was in the kitchen.

Example

Before the era of mobile technology, the household telephone was typically tethered to a wall jack in a central room of the house.

Usage

Often shortened to 'phone' in modern everyday English.
- phone
- handset
2 the game (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate American English

a game where a message is whispered from person to person and usually changes by the end.

a children's game in which a message is passed through a line of people via whispering, often resulting in humorous distortion.

Example

The kids played telephone at the party and the final sentence was hilarious.

Example

The corporate communication breakdown felt like a game of telephone, where the original strategy was completely lost by the time it reached the staff.

Usage

Uncountable in this sense.
- chinese whispers

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3 to call someone (v.)
A2 Elementary

to call someone using a telephone.

to contact or attempt to contact a person via a telecommunications network.

Example

I will telephone you tomorrow morning to discuss our travel plans.

Example

The witness immediately telephoned the emergency services after observing the suspicious vehicle departing from the scene.

Usage

Can be used with or without a direct object.

Origin

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”).

Idioms1 entry

01
telephone tag
A situation in which a person unsuccessfully attempts to contact another person by telephone and leaves a message instead, and in which the second person then unsuccessfully attempts to return the initial call and leaves a message for the first person, and so on as if the two are playing a game of tag in which the most recent person to have been left with a message is now designated as "it" (i.e. as the player now obliged to chase the other and to attempt anew to make contact).