hands-freeadj.
/ˈhan(d)zˌfriː/, U.S. /ˈhæn(d)zˈfri/ Designating a telephone or other device which can be operated without using the hands; designating an activity or function facilitated by such a device.
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > telephone equipment > [adjective] > types of telephone
telephonographic1889
rotary1910
automatic1934
hands-free1955
1955 Times Recorder (Zanesville, Ohio) 10 Jan. 8/6 Included in the new equipment will be illuminated dials, colored sets, answering devices and the new hands-free phone.
1977 GTE Automatic Electr. Jrnl. 15 275 The new speakerphone is a small, handsetless device which combines conventional design with microelectronic integration to provide hands-free calling.
1984 Techn. Digest (AT & T Technol.) No. 75. 22 Possible applications for this system are in aids for the handicapped..or where hands-free use of the telephone is desirable, such as in a kitchen or garage.
1989 Which? Sept. 443/3 Others would have liked facilities which their present phones didn't have, especially hands-free speech and voice-activated dialling.
2004 T. L. Lee & C. M. Anthony Gotham Diaries 99 Talking on her hands-free cell phone with a dangling mouthpiece that jumped as she gesticulated wildly.
2011 N.Y. Times 13 Oct. (Late ed.) b7/1 Many technological advances..have happened in commercial restrooms—hands-free faucets..and cyclonic hand dryers.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1955