phone1 nounphone2 verb
phonephone1 /fəʊn $ foʊn/ ●●● S1 W2 noun [countable] 
WORD ORIGINphone1
Origin:
1800-1900 telephoneEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Can I use your phone?
- I could hear a phone ringing in the next apartment.
- It was another reporter asking questions, so she just slammed down the phone.
- What's your phone number?
- I was sorely tempted to show him the way to the phone booth, but I am not a vindictive man.
- Many writers feeling good about their contribution have picked up the phone and been told to get cranking again.
- One phone call could save a lot of hassle.
- Several hours later, I was talking to Pierluigi on the phone in Manhattan.
- The phone company maintains that the upgrade will not cause telephone rates to increase.
- They've been back on the phone again despite Portsmouth awarding him a new two-year contract!
- Why hadn't Doug wanted to tell her on the phone?
THESAURUS
(also telephone formal) · My wife was talking to someone on the phone.· What’s your home phone number?· The nearest telephone was in the school secretary’s office.
British English (also mobile informal) a telephone that you can carry with you, that works by using a network of radio stations to pass on signals: · Even children as young as eight have mobile phones.· She always has her mobile switched off.
American English (also cell informal) a mobile phone: · You can reach me on my cell phone.
a system that records messages so that you can listen to them on your phone: · Let me check my voice mail.
(also text, SMS) a message from someone that you can read on your mobile phone: · I got a text from Paul.
a telephone that uses wires – used when comparing this with a mobile phone: · Calls cost 25p from a landline, more from a mobile phone.
the part of a telephone that you pick up to listen and talk: · She put down the receiver and started crying.
Longman Language Activatorto speak to someone by telephone · To find out more, call 555-1972.· Can you call Becky before six?· She called about twenty minutes ago.call for · I'll call for a taxi now.call roundBritish /around American (=call several people or organizations, especially to get information) · I called round to see if anyone knew where Tom was.· His secretary started calling around to find out where the commission was meeting.
also ring British · I'll phone you if there's any news.· Shall I ring Sarah to see if she wants to come out with us?· Did anyone ring while I was out?· Jill phoned to tell you she'll see you tonight.phone for · Let's phone for a pizza tonight.phone/ring round British (=telephone several people or organizations, especially to get information) · You'd better ring round some travel agents to get some prices.
to speak to someone by telephone . Telephone is more formal than phone or call , and is used especially in writing: · About five o'clock, a woman telephoned Bernstein.· For details of your nearest tourist office telephone 4127.· Mr Dodd telephoned this morning.telephone for: · Write or telephone for more information.
British /call up American to speak to someone by telephone, especially in order to have a friendly conversation with them or to ask for information: · Your uncle rang up about an hour ago.· "I don't know what time the last train is." "Well, phone up and find out."ring/call/phone up somebody: · Why don't you call up Jackie and apologize?· She uses the office phone to phone up her friends in Sweden.ring/call/phone somebody up: · John called him up to make sure of the date of the graduation ceremony.· I might phone him up at home.
also give somebody a ring British spoken to speak to someone by telephone - use this especially when you are telling someone that you will telephone them, or when you are asking them to telephone: · Just give me a call if you need anything.· Why don't I give you a ring later and find out when you'll be free?
to use the telephone to speak to someone: · Diana made a quick call to Munich before the meeting.· There's a pay phone in the lobby if you need to make a telephone call.· Limit the number of personal phone calls you make at work.
to be speaking to someone on the telephone: · Rosie's still on the phone.· There's someone on the phone for you.be on the phone to: · He was on the phone to a friend when he noticed the smoke.be on the phone with: · How long are workers on the phone with customers?talk/speak on the phone: · Marie and I talk on the phone at least once a week.have somebody on the phone (=to have someone calling you): · Mr Rogers, I have Anita Payne on the phone for you.
informal also give somebody a bell British informal to telephone someone: · I'll give Larry a buzz. Maybe he'll want to go too.· Can you give Mary a bell? She rang earlier.· Give me a ring if you decide you can come.
to succeed in reaching someone by telephone: · I tried calling my parents, but I couldn't get through.get through to: · Did you get through to Mr McWhirter?
when you use the telephone in order to tell someone something · You can buy them by credit card over the phone.· The ticket office told me on the phone that I'd have front-row seats in section D.· I didn't want to go into details on the phone, so we arranged a meeting in my office for the next day.· Maria started crying over the phone as she told me about it.
if you tell someone something by phone or by telephone , you make a telephone call to tell them it: · The survey questions 500 people a month by phone.· Reservations can be made by telephone, but must be confirmed in writing within seven days.
to end a telephone call to finish a telephone conversation or stop it before it has finished by putting down the receiver (=the part of a telephone you speak into): · If a caller is rude, just hang up.hang up the phone/receiver: · I said I'd be right there. I hung up the phone and grabbed my purse and car keys.hang up on somebody (=put the telephone down while someone is still talking): · Mitchell was furious and hung up on him.
especially British to put down the receiver (=the part of a telephone you speak into) after you have finished talking to someone: · There was a long pause, and she was about to put the phone down when the voice came back again.
to put the telephone down while someone is still speaking to you, because you are angry: · Call her. The worst thing she could do is slam down the phone.slam the phone down/slam down the phone on: · He tried to talk to her, but she slammed the phone down on him.
if you get cut off or get disconnected when you are making a telephone call, the telephone suddenly stops working in the middle of your conversation and you cannot continue: · We got cut off in the middle of the conversation.· I don't know what happened, we just got disconnected.
British to end a telephone call: · I suppose I'd better ring off now -- we've been on the phone for over an hour.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Meanings 1 & 2verbs
The hotel runs a courtesy bus from the airport. Most reviewers receive a courtesy copy of the book. obscene phone calls (=calls from an unknown person saying obscene things) I need to make a quick phone call. I got a phone call from someone called Mike. She claimed the relationship consisted mainly of him calling her up to have phone sex. Murray’s phone calls to Australia were tapped.
· Do you mind if I use your phone?
· Around three o’clock, the phone rang.
(also pick up the phone)· My dad answered the phone.
· I only remembered his name after I had put the phone down.
(=put it down hard, because you are angry)· I was so mad I just slammed the phone down.
· We talk on the phone every day.· We spoke earlier on the phone, if you remember.
· I’m sorry, she can’t come to the phone right now.
(=be talking to someone on the phone)· I was on the phone to my mother all morning.
· Larry, tell Rosemary that she’s wanted on the phone.
· I called her on the phone and invited her to Las Vegas.
(=call them)· We got on the phone to the hospital straight away.
phone + NOUN· Can I have your phone number?
(=a telephone wire or connection)· Listeners jammed the phone lines, demanding to hear the song.
(=a bill for phone calls)· Our last phone bill was huge.
(=one that provides a telephone service)· I switched phone companies.
· Neither man denies the phone conversation took place.
phrases (also the phone is engaged British English) (=the person you are calling is already speaking to someone else)· I tried you earlier, but your phone was engaged.
(=the phone line stops working or is not working)· Before he could reply, the phone suddenly went dead.
(=it cannot be used because it is not connected or is already being used)· On Friday nights we just take the phone off the hook and relax.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES (=one that is often unpleasant or contains threats)
· Have you checked your mobile phone battery?
· I’ll have to pay the gas bill too next month.
British English (=call a cab)· There's no need to give me a lift. I'll phone for a cab.
· I had a phone call from Barbara in Australia.
(=one that you can use in some public telephones)· You can use this phone card in several countries.
· an international oil company
The hotel runs a courtesy bus from the airport. Most reviewers receive a courtesy copy of the book. (=a message that someone has written down for you from a phone call)· There was a telephone message for her to call Harbury.
obscene phone calls (=calls from an unknown person saying obscene things) I need to make a quick phone call. I got a phone call from someone called Mike. She claimed the relationship consisted mainly of him calling her up to have phone sex. (=phone to say you are not coming in to work because you are ill)· I could have called in sick, but I knew you needed this report.
Murray’s phone calls to Australia were tapped. (=telephone for a taxi to come)· Can you phone for a taxi and I'll get our coats.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE· A new cellular phone has been introduced which directly links the car to emergency aid within seconds.· People with a cellular phone in the car run a 34 percent higher risk of having an accident, researchers say.· Many of those who initially looked at the handyphone were disappointed because they thought it was the same as a cellular phone.· Their strategy was overheard on a police scanner that was able to intercept cellular phone transmissions.· Eo Phone for connecting a cellular phone system.· In the back seat, Mike dialed up Arlene on the cellular phone.· Lewis and his crew shut off the lights to their car, dialed 911 on a cellular phone and waited.· Shosteck said the lowest wholesale prices for cellular phones was $ 216 in 1993.
· Nynex and other phone companies sell long-distance and local phone service as a single package.· The ad lit up local radio talk-show phone lines, and the comment was not limited to the usual pro-sheriff variety.· Another big question mark: How vigorously will the local phone companies defend their turf?· The bill also repeals prohibitions on local phone companies to provide video services.· Category one services are likely to include international long distance, intra-city long distance and local phone calls.
· It is all made possible by smart phones, the next generation mobile phones equipped with a Psion-designed operating system.· Dimension Data rose 4.1 per cent to R52.90 while mobile phone operator M-Cell jumped 76.6 per cent to R26.65.· It was too low-lying for a mobile phone and completely isolated, but the buyers loved it.· Cable & Wireless fell 23p to 846p after its Mercury operation launched a new mobile phone service.· Globalisation, Giddens seems to say, is about giving every villager in the Andes a Nokia internet-enabled mobile phone.· Mr. Lewis Would the Minister like my complaints about the service by fax, pager or mobile phone?· Maybe the mobile phones at the Docklands beer festival were no mere accident.
NOUN· The phone rings, though, so it looks as if somebody pays the phone bills.· You are required by the District Attorney to provide your phone bills, both business and personal.· For example, competition could cut the size of phone bills and end the imposition of unreasonable bank charges on small businesses.· Customers can pay by credit card or with their monthly phone bill starting next month.· My phone bill can stand it!· Pac Bell has sought to make amends with the Stinsons by agreeing to pay their cellular phone bill.· He stayed for weeks, ran up astronomical phone bills, and then vanished.· Is it not true that too many people have phone bills that are too high?
· It's in the phone book.· She had to look up the number in the phone book.· Look up your nearest Brook Advisory Centre in the phone book and make an appointment.· Grabbing the phone book, he leafed through, looking for the number of the nursing home.· Nicola Hammond looked in the phone book.· Unlike novels and other creative works, factual compilations like phone books and directories tend to be cut and dry.· Old phone books apparently make an ideal alternative to straw, and they're far cheaper.· She called some Tonellis there out of the phone book, and one of them suggested that she contact me.
· As soon as he could, he found a phone booth.· He was standing in an exposed phone booth.· You're a millionaire call while in a phone booth in Creeksville-in-the-Boondocks.· It took him a few minutes to find a public phone booth.· In a phone booth, Celine gives Robert lessons in sounding demanding and ruthless in his ransom calls to Naville.· The elevator is a perforated metal box no larger than a phone booth.· He left the phone booth and went quickly out to the street.
· I rang his sister from a public phone box.· She spotted the out-of-order phone box and drew up beside it.· Miracle: a phone box empty.· She takes it and makes for the phone box.· Charlie'd said he wanted to phone Lilian and when I come back over the road he was in a phone box.· So if you spot a public phone box tell me.· When it was safe to do so, Stone entered the phone box and began to make his calls.· Now we haven't even got the phone box.
· He did not even wait to be told the subject of the phone call.· I've just had a serious phone call.· United did not return phone calls asking for comment.· It comes complete with the links to download the software that needed for video phone calls and such like.· Ickes, 57, did not return phone calls this week.· If you get an obscene or abusive phone call, don't say anything and hang up immediately!· Asking a friendly, million-member organization to blitz Capitol Hill with phone calls and letters is forbidden.
· Whenever it had to stop at the lights the occupant seemed to be rather impressively on the car phone.· People who blab on their car phones operate in an altered state.· But he liked people to know things like he had a car phone.· John Violanti and James Marshall, the average time spent on a car phone is 50 minutes a month.· It's a portable car phone that can be plugged into the socket of a cigarette lighter.· They are competing in popularity with car phones.· Cheryl also handles all car phone arrangements for the sales team, negotiating rates with the phone companies.· He's up at his cabin now, but I can reach him on his car phone.
· And put down that cell phone, before it kills you!· New Yorkers tend to think one thing and do another with cell phones.· Some children carry cell phones that are programmed to dial only three numbers-home, school and office.· Whether you can set off dynamite with a cell phone.· Services, have already set up networks in most major metropolitan areas to offer Internet access via the cell phone technology.· To be sure, predicting how many cell phones and semiconductors to make is a difficult game.
· This is rough on the phone company, which still organizes the phone book by first names.· The odds favor the phone company.· The Official Family was like the phone company.· Then the Government quietly pulled out and turned the operation over to a handful of communications giants and the long-distance phone companies.· But the phone company patched through a line Friday night, and du Pont answered the telephone when authorities called.· Target customers include the regional Bell operating companies, independent phone companies, and network software suppliers.· In the 1960s, it was fashionable to hate the phone company.
· The phone conversation with Roman had shaken her and she wanted to think about it before she said any more.· Records of several cellular phone conversations between Ramsey and other individuals confirmed this, Wasserman said.· Her only contribution to the phone conversation was an occasional monosyllable.· The document described her phone conversation with the irate customer.· Finally Audio notepad will enable the user to recording their phone conversation at the click of a button.· Five years ago, four people pleaded guilty to felonies for having recorded and disseminated a phone conversation of Gov.· The cellular phone conversation was picked up on a police scanner.
· Prestel is accessed through ordinary phone lines, always at the cost of a local call.· At this time, cable shopping channels are not truly interactive because they use phone lines to take orders.· The basic service comprises two phone lines per connection.· Power and phone lines striated the sky.· Dial tone not detected: Is your phone line plugged in?· I get fax messages printed out through my phone line in the hospital.· There are also two phone lines for the event; an information hotline and a competition line to win tickets.· Some come with voice-mail features, and others allow you to talk over a phone line while connected to another computer.
· Prestel is accessed through ordinary phone lines, always at the cost of a local call.· At this time, cable shopping channels are not truly interactive because they use phone lines to take orders.· The basic service comprises two phone lines per connection.· Power and phone lines striated the sky.· A raid on the adjoining rugby club meant that the phone lines at the University ground were cut for a day.· The phone lines, he said, are all severed as the civil war continues.· Instead he has been shot at, his phone lines have been cut, and his house has been burned down.· But with digital instruments and digital storage, the data could be transferred through phone lines from the source to the computer.
· Call listed phone numbers for directions.· I took no notes, had no addresses, no phone numbers.· Give a phone number if at all possible.· It doesn't seem to matter that the reader has my name and could easily get my address and phone number.· Make sure that all the local news people have the appropriate office and home phone numbers.· A computer looks at the phone number and decides whether any of the participating fax machines cover the destination.
· It gives head office phone numbers.· We cleaned up with Kleenexes, exchanged phone numbers.· To protect privacy, phone numbers have only been included for those governing bodies which have an office.· Sounds like a memory for phone numbers to me.· Call listed phone numbers for directions.· They tell of phone numbers one can call for horoscopes, fortunes, curses, cures.· He kissed her and pressed a list of phone numbers and dates and times into her hand.· As of Wednesday, all the 231-prefix phone numbers were nonworking.
· Donaldson left Mrs Balanchine on the ward and found a pay phone to call his office.· I made phone calls to my three friends from the pay phone on the corner and got three answering machines.· Money was taken from the till, pool table and pay phone.· The closest one she can find is a pay phone just outside Mac Court.· I could flip through a fifty-page state supreme court decision on deadline and call in a story from a pay phone.· Radio reporters in the field soon learned where all the good pay phones were located.· What do you do when a pay phone gives you an extra quarter back?
· He had heard the phone ring but did not listen to what was said.· He let the phone ring twenty times, thirty, tried the line again, let it ring forty times.· If your phone rings at 2.15 a.m. you'd better hope that too.· Simply to imagine it is to defy credibility: A phone rings in a boarding house in Mobile, Alabama.· If the phone rings you know your dialer and modem are talking to each other properly.· The earlier the phone rings, the worse the news.· The phone rings and he retires to the office to attend to it.· The phone rings and you have to pick it up by the fourth ring or it rolls over to the message service.
· Cable & Wireless fell 23p to 846p after its Mercury operation launched a new mobile phone service.· He noted that long-distance firms are still prohibited from accessing certain local phone services, such as high-volume calling plans.· Consumers are thought to be waiting to see if new mobile phone services and email via television meet their needs.· Nynex and other phone companies sell long-distance and local phone service as a single package.· Cable & Wireless continued to be affected by worries over its new London phone service.· The Swire group plans to be a mobile phone service provider.· I have three for various financial purposes, one of which I've forgotten, plus two more for international phone services.· The station telephone rang, a rarity in itself, since phone service on the island was virtually nonexistent.
· They needed an internal phone system that ensured fast and reliable communications between their commodity traders across the world.· But most people found only busy signals, as structural damage and call volume overwhelmed local phone systems.· SunSoft promises that Solaris Live!'s future includes integration with phone systems and object-oriented extensions.· But if they do commit to the Internet, users may well have an affordable alternative to the phone system.· There is still no mobile phone system, no credit cards and no convertible currency.· But unlike the phone system, there are no long-distance charges on the Internet.· They are planning a 100 percent digital phone system that will enable voice images and data to be carried on the line.· That takes the strain off a phone system designed to carry voice and provides higher throughput for Internet users and telecommuters.
VERB· It was Peter MacPherson who answered the phone to Tommy.· Will you refuse to answer the phone if there is no number on your display?· She'd phone to see if he was all right and if he didn't answer the phone there'd be trouble.· Billie knew he had gone fishing with Louise, she had answered the phone when Louise called.· If anyone answers the phone he won't even know whose voice it is, let alone what she's saying.· Q6 tells it to not answer the phone automatically.· She can't look after the salon at lunchtimes, as she's unable to answer the phone.· Wildfire makes voice-recognition technology used to answer phones and take messages.
· I got some phone numbers out of the Salvation Army yesterday.· It was frightening to get a dozen screaming phone calls a day, and nothing I could say made any difference.· I got the phone call at midnight.· But I got a late-night phone call from you, Doll.· Now we haven't even got the phone box.· I'd get a phone call from his secretary and then a limousine would be waiting for me down the lane.· It doesn't seem to matter that the reader has my name and could easily get my address and phone number.
· He wanted to dissipate his anger before making the next phone call.· Hughes makes cellular phones for use in vehicles sold by its parent, General Motors.· At nine thirty he made a phone call.· I listened while Ted made a phone call.· I went into a pharmacy to make some phone calls.· Cramer left the room to make a phone call.· Old thought: We lived for thousands of years without needing to make or take phone calls right this red hot second.
· On impulse I picked up the phone and rang her, hoping I still had the right number.· But when he picks up the phone and dials her number, there is no answer.· Enter now ... Simply pick up the phone and dial Our lines are open 24 hours, 7 days a week.· He picked up the phone and called the school superintendent.· On impulse, she picked up the phone and began to dial Donna's number.· One day, when I least expected it, I picked up the phone and he was on the other end.· However trivial you think your observation is, pick up the phone and tell the police.· I could pick up the phone and call the police.
· And he had just put the phone down on the only man who could ruin it all for him.· There was more to the Steelers' resurgence than putting the phones on hold, however.· I put the phone down on him.· On hearing my voice he put down the phone.· Inside the phonebox Jack put down the phone.· Be brisk, polite, and put the phone down.· Bandeira was anxious as he put the phone down.· As he put the phone down he thought: You go right ahead.
· He rang while I was reaching for the phone.· I reached for the phone to call Goldman Sachs, Alex.· He reached for the phone and rang the London office.· After studying the handwritten pages, Dalzell reached for his phone.· The 15-year-old had just reached an emergency phone when a Ford Sierra swerved to a halt in front of him.· As he reached for the phone, he realized what he was doing-he was placing his foot squarely in a bear trap.· I don't have to speak to 25 people before I can reach her on the phone.· That was why he had tried to reach Cantor by phone and arrange a meeting in some neutral territory.
· He said she had received threatening phone calls and that the whole experience had been most unpleasant.· But two years ago a London antiques dealer received a mysterious phone call.· Sheffield received harassing phone calls most of last season.· Ballater received a phone call from Rose at seven o'clock that evening.· She recalled years later that she frequently received phone calls from friends planning a group excursion on the town.· I served on the citizenship working party after receiving a phone call from David Blunkett's office.· One evening, Ham Robb received a phone call.
· BReid, who is a former deputy district attorney, did not return a phone call seeking comment.· Wynn, Mays and Tienken did not return phone calls Friday.· My hand would return the phone to its cradle.· Meyer did not return phone calls late Tuesday.· Before my 11.00am appointment I return two phone calls.· The company did not return phone calls.· Carey works in the White House as a special assistant for legislative affairs; he did not return a phone call Monday.· United did not return phone calls asking for comment.
· It was a good thing we were speaking by phone that first time, Rainville would say later.· Although we worked in I different parts of the country, we often spoke on the phone.· One day Alexander and I were speaking on the phone.· I've already spoken on the phone to the doctors who treated you in Salisbury.· He hates speaking over the phone.· She glanced at him but before he could speak the phone rang.· In his first day, Bulger began boning up on university business and spoke by phone with campus chancellors.
· Late last year five women wearing T-shirts were stoned in Dili's central market for dressing inappropriately and talking on mobile phones.· No one wanted to talk on the phone.· Keeping people talking on the phone.· When we talk on the phone, she may hang up on me.· That means you can surf the Net and talk on the phone at the same time over one line.· So a user could be surfing the Net at warp speed while talking on the phone.· Two men on a train almost get into a fistfight because one refuses to stop talking on his cell phone.
· Morton, he realized, spoke with the confidence of the man who tapped the phones.· One eye's cut from the flowered turf: a horse skull, whispering secrets with wind-sighs like tapping on phone wires.
· I could see he'd never used a public phone before.· The student was beaten outside the cafeteria while using the phone after a junior varsity football practice.· Don't go back inside your house to use the phone.· Also, people use the phone today in the strangest ways.· Nigel was glad as it saved him breaking his own rules about using the phone.· They know we have to use the phone to call them.· He would have to use the phone in the hall.· Observer Vivan Riefberg of Alexandria called 911 using a cellular phone.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► answer the phone/a call/the door► call/phone somebody collect► leave/take the phone off the hook
1a telephone: - After I have put the phone down I sit gazing at Kyle on the opposite side of the airwell.
- After she had put the phone down, she felt in a daze.
- And he had just put the phone down on the only man who could ruin it all for him.
- Be brisk, polite, and put the phone down.
- Culley put the phone down, then dialled Mike Dawson's number.
- He put the phone down and listened to its ringing - its machine persistence.
- He put the phone down in the dining room.
- He put the phone down on the cradle and stared at it.
Much of his work is done by phone. Who was that on the phone? I wish Amy would get off the phone. → cellphone, mobile phone, pay phoneGRAMMARYou say: · She’s on the phone.· She’s talking on her phone. ✗Don’t say: at the phone2the part of a telephone into which you speak SYN receiver: He put the phone down on me (=ended the call before I had finished speaking).COLLOCATIONS– Meanings 1 & 2verbsuse the phone· Do you mind if I use your phone?the phone rings· Around three o’clock, the phone rang.answer the phone (also pick up the phone)· My dad answered the phone.put the phone down· I only remembered his name after I had put the phone down.slam the phone down (=put it down hard, because you are angry)· I was so mad I just slammed the phone down.talk/speak (to somebody) on the phone· We talk on the phone every day.· We spoke earlier on the phone, if you remember.come to the phone· I’m sorry, she can’t come to the phone right now.be on the phone to somebody (=be talking to someone on the phone)· I was on the phone to my mother all morning.be wanted on the phone· Larry, tell Rosemary that she’s wanted on the phone.call somebody on the phone· I called her on the phone and invited her to Las Vegas.get on the phone to somebody (=call them)· We got on the phone to the hospital straight away.phone + NOUNa phone number· Can I have your phone number?a phone line (=a telephone wire or connection)· Listeners jammed the phone lines, demanding to hear the song.a phone bill (=a bill for phone calls)· Our last phone bill was huge.a phone company (=one that provides a telephone service)· I switched phone companies.a phone conversation· Neither man denies the phone conversation took place.phrasesthe phone is busy (also the phone is engaged British English) (=the person you are calling is already speaking to someone else)· I tried you earlier, but your phone was engaged.the phone goes/is dead (=the phone line stops working or is not working)· Before he could reply, the phone suddenly went dead.the phone is off the hook (=it cannot be used because it is not connected or is already being used)· On Friday nights we just take the phone off the hook and relax.THESAURUSphone (also telephone formal): · My wife was talking to someone on the phone.· What’s your home phone number?· The nearest telephone was in the school secretary’s office.mobile phone British English (also mobile informal) a telephone that you can carry with you, that works by using a network of radio stations to pass on signals: · Even children as young as eight have mobile phones.· She always has her mobile switched off.cell phone American English (also cell informal) a mobile phone: · You can reach me on my cell phone.voice mail a system that records messages so that you can listen to them on your phone: · Let me check my voice mail.text message (also text, SMS) a message from someone that you can read on your mobile phone: · I got a text from Paul.landline a telephone that uses wires – used when comparing this with a mobile phone: · Calls cost 25p from a landline, more from a mobile phone.receiver the part of a telephone that you pick up to listen and talk: · She put down the receiver and started crying.phone1 nounphone2 verb
phonephone2 ●●● S1 (also phone up) verb [intransitive, transitive] VERB TABLE
phone
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | phone |
| he, she, it | phones | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | phoned |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have phoned |
| he, she, it | has phoned | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had phoned |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will phone |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have phoned |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am phoning |
| he, she, it | is phoning | |
| you, we, they | are phoning | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was phoning |
| you, we, they | were phoning | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been phoning |
| he, she, it | has been phoning | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been phoning |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be phoning |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been phoning |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- I'll phone you if there's any news.
- I phoned her apartment, but she wasn't there.
- Jill phoned to tell you she'll see you tonight.
- Let's phone for a pizza tonight.
- You can register for the program by phoning this number.
- Any parent who is worried their child may have been in contact with the doctor can still phone the hospital for advice.
- He guessed his Mum would phone when she got to work and then maybe again when she took her break at half-three.
- He has often been phoned by cold callers trying the masculinity trip on him.
- Jackie goes upstairs to phone her husband at work, so that he might make a trip to the shops before visiting hour.
- She phones me every other day.
- Strawberry phoned the Red Sox Wednesday in an attempt to get talks going but missed Duquette.
- The concerned kitchen staff phoned the embassy for a translation.
THESAURUS
to speak to someone by telephone. Phoneis more common in British English than American English: · I’ll phone you tomorrow.
to phone someone. Call is used in both British and American English: · One of the neighbors called the police.· Call me later.
British English spoken to phone someone. Ring is more informal than phone or call: · I can ring her at the office tomorrow.
(also give somebody a ring) spoken to phone someone: · If you ever come to Seattle, give me a call.· I’ll give the hospital a ring and see how he is.
formal to phone someone: · Angry listeners telephoned the BBC to complain.
trademark to make a telephone call using special software that allows you to make calls over the Internet: · I Skyped her last night and we spoke for hours.
Longman Language Activatorto speak to someone by telephone · To find out more, call 555-1972.· Can you call Becky before six?· She called about twenty minutes ago.call for · I'll call for a taxi now.call roundBritish /around American (=call several people or organizations, especially to get information) · I called round to see if anyone knew where Tom was.· His secretary started calling around to find out where the commission was meeting.
also ring British · I'll phone you if there's any news.· Shall I ring Sarah to see if she wants to come out with us?· Did anyone ring while I was out?· Jill phoned to tell you she'll see you tonight.phone for · Let's phone for a pizza tonight.phone/ring round British (=telephone several people or organizations, especially to get information) · You'd better ring round some travel agents to get some prices.
to speak to someone by telephone . Telephone is more formal than phone or call , and is used especially in writing: · About five o'clock, a woman telephoned Bernstein.· For details of your nearest tourist office telephone 4127.· Mr Dodd telephoned this morning.telephone for: · Write or telephone for more information.
British /call up American to speak to someone by telephone, especially in order to have a friendly conversation with them or to ask for information: · Your uncle rang up about an hour ago.· "I don't know what time the last train is." "Well, phone up and find out."ring/call/phone up somebody: · Why don't you call up Jackie and apologize?· She uses the office phone to phone up her friends in Sweden.ring/call/phone somebody up: · John called him up to make sure of the date of the graduation ceremony.· I might phone him up at home.
also give somebody a ring British spoken to speak to someone by telephone - use this especially when you are telling someone that you will telephone them, or when you are asking them to telephone: · Just give me a call if you need anything.· Why don't I give you a ring later and find out when you'll be free?
to use the telephone to speak to someone: · Diana made a quick call to Munich before the meeting.· There's a pay phone in the lobby if you need to make a telephone call.· Limit the number of personal phone calls you make at work.
to be speaking to someone on the telephone: · Rosie's still on the phone.· There's someone on the phone for you.be on the phone to: · He was on the phone to a friend when he noticed the smoke.be on the phone with: · How long are workers on the phone with customers?talk/speak on the phone: · Marie and I talk on the phone at least once a week.have somebody on the phone (=to have someone calling you): · Mr Rogers, I have Anita Payne on the phone for you.
informal also give somebody a bell British informal to telephone someone: · I'll give Larry a buzz. Maybe he'll want to go too.· Can you give Mary a bell? She rang earlier.· Give me a ring if you decide you can come.
to succeed in reaching someone by telephone: · I tried calling my parents, but I couldn't get through.get through to: · Did you get through to Mr McWhirter?
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY She phoned in sick (=telephoned to say that she was ill and could not come to work).COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES The hotel runs a courtesy bus from the airport. Most reviewers receive a courtesy copy of the book. obscene phone calls (=calls from an unknown person saying obscene things) I need to make a quick phone call. I got a phone call from someone called Mike. She claimed the relationship consisted mainly of him calling her up to have phone sex. Murray’s phone calls to Australia were tapped.
She phoned in sick (=telephoned to say that she was ill and could not come to work). (=one that is often unpleasant or contains threats)
· Have you checked your mobile phone battery?
· I’ll have to pay the gas bill too next month.
British English (=call a cab)· There's no need to give me a lift. I'll phone for a cab.
· I had a phone call from Barbara in Australia.
(=one that you can use in some public telephones)· You can use this phone card in several countries.
· an international oil company
The hotel runs a courtesy bus from the airport. Most reviewers receive a courtesy copy of the book. (=a message that someone has written down for you from a phone call)· There was a telephone message for her to call Harbury.
obscene phone calls (=calls from an unknown person saying obscene things) I need to make a quick phone call. I got a phone call from someone called Mike. She claimed the relationship consisted mainly of him calling her up to have phone sex. (=phone to say you are not coming in to work because you are ill)· I could have called in sick, but I knew you needed this report.
Murray’s phone calls to Australia were tapped. (=telephone for a taxi to come)· Can you phone for a taxi and I'll get our coats.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· Moira F. phoned again, he wrote.· Would Tom phone again to tell her what was going on?· He said he would phone again.· About half an hour later, he phoned again.
· You should make it clear whether you will phone back or whether you wish to be telephoned.· We are now waiting for the specialist to phone back.· He is meticulous in phoning back anyone who calls when he's out.· If only Greene would phone back so we can discuss it!· Too often the executive forgets to phone back until the next day.· At a quarter to twelve he phoned back.
· Don't phone home from your hotel.· Renouncing the world of work and money, they phone home for funds.· He phoned home but there was no answer.· And it helped that Grant never let us down financially, and phoned home every day.· Maybe when they didn't phone home, the alarm bells rang.· I'd put half a dozen 10p pieces in there to phone home, and I'd only used one.· Tonight Mrs Rennie is hoping her son will phone home.· Only, first I'd phone home. 10.07, Mum'd be up by now.
· You say the earliest we're going to get the results is nine, so let's just phone in around then.· Stephen Ross phoned in from Cardiff, he says can Labour lower the consent for gay people if they get in.· The station let viewers phone in and say almost what they wanted.· Seven hundred reports of sightings were phoned in to the Starling Squad, to be pinpointed on a map of Leicestershire.· She helped out by taking the copy phoned in by our correspondents around the region.· Now, heavenly bodies. Phone in and give us the benefit of your view.· Any customer who phones in to a P&O Roadtanks depot, can hire a vehicle for a one-off delivery.
· Anyway I phoned up here before making the journey and they took us round.· She kept phoning up from Harrogate and his dad came too, several times in the first few days.· Instead, they will have to phone up and reserve one of a pool of 100 rotating offices.· Some one phoned up a pre-watershed live show and started telling a joke about putting suppositories up your bum.· She phoned up the doctors and said she'd make an appointment for me.· Dad phoned up and came round and sent furious letters.· It hit me when I phoned up and they said those two had gone.
NOUN· Not that he's defending cell phones.· Turns out the call was made on her cell phone in her car.· So he had to call the sheriff on his cell phone.· Some crews actually rope cell phones down to high and dry rock climbers to get information.
· Since I mentioned this ludicrous example of time-wasting to Julia MacKenzie, she has phoned roughly twice a day.· She phones me every other day.· Amy phoned every day from Manchester to see if he'd been found.· I phoned the ward every day at first, and then weekly, to discuss Mr Allen's progress.· And it helped that Grant never let us down financially, and phoned home every day.· The company's complaints department phoned Susan the next day to tell her who to contact.
· One of them phoned the other every evening.· It was her turn to phone Daphne this evening.· I decided to phone him in the evening.
· He phoned an old school friend named Andy Rourke.· Branson spent a frantic evening phoning around friends until he found her, and persuaded her to return.· Racing expert John Randall phoned a friend on the £1million astrology question on Monday.· If you think of phoning an old friend, do it!· Jay liked to phone her friends in the morning.· I phoned all her friends, but none of them knew anything.
· Any parent who is worried their child may have been in contact with the doctor can still phone the hospital for advice.· Anyway, she phoned the hospital and made an appointment for me and that was that.· Most clinics are attached to large hospitals so phone the main hospital number and ask to be put through.
· She had not even phoned them that morning to explain her absence.· Anyway, Jennifer phoned the next morning and told me it was all over.· Spittals had already phoned that morning for a progress report.
· That would teach me to pay more attention, and to put names to phone numbers.
· They had not been reachable when they were phoned in the night!· She'd promised to phone Julie that night to let her know she'd arrived safely and to check on her sister.
· That would teach me to pay more attention, and to put names to phone numbers.· I return to Cambridge drained, with a pack of photocopies and Lynne Robbins's phone number.· Simple - phone the special local-rate number.· They definitely should phone a number of people to get ideas from different caterers.· He phones that number and obeys the recorded instructions he receives.· P-Trak does offer a variety of other personal information such as names, addresses and phone numbers.· Most clinics are attached to large hospitals so phone the main hospital number and ask to be put through.· Others give you nothing more than a password and phone number.
· Whenever Shiona phoned - at the office or at his home - she was told that he was unavailable.· A woman's been phoning your office every day: wants to speak to you.· I phoned your office on Friday to confirm that this date is convenient.· You need anything. phone my office and nowhere else.· Later she was seen phoning from the office.· Then he hung up immediately, phoned his office and cancelled his afternoon appointments.
· In town one evening we called his mom from a pay phone.
· You can phone either the police or your relatives, who wish to speak to you.· They were in a store phoning the police when the shots were fired.· On June 5 last year a lodger found Mrs Capper dead in bed and phoned the police.· When they discovered he wasn't home, they'd phone the police.· I phoned the police and they arrested him, then they took me up there.
· I have phoned Sarah many times and had long talks with her about the welfare of goats.· I phoned Minna several times, but nobody answered.· I did phone, several times, she was never there and I left messages.· She'd phoned the apartment umpteen times, always in secrecy, but never got an answer.· He had phoned a couple of times but she had been out.· She moved soon after that to Thetford in your East Anglia and I was able to phone her there a few times.· But phoned home several times, to say he was happy.· You can phone as many times - and as many different lines - as you like.
· His agent phoned him last week.· She phoned me earlier this week and invited me to come down here to see her land.
VERB· P-Trak does offer a variety of other personal information such as names, addresses and phone numbers.
· He tried to phone for help.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► answer the phone/a call/the door► call/phone somebody collect► leave/take the phone off the hook
to speak to someone by telephone: - After I have put the phone down I sit gazing at Kyle on the opposite side of the airwell.
- After she had put the phone down, she felt in a daze.
- And he had just put the phone down on the only man who could ruin it all for him.
- Be brisk, polite, and put the phone down.
- Culley put the phone down, then dialled Mike Dawson's number.
- He put the phone down and listened to its ringing - its machine persistence.
- He put the phone down in the dining room.
- He put the phone down on the cradle and stared at it.
I’ll phone you this evening. Why didn’t they phone the police? For information phone 8279–3772. Stevie phoned to say that he was going to be late. I kept phoning her up, asking to meet her. Tell him to phone back (=telephone again at a later time) tomorrow. ► You do not ‘phone to’ someone or ‘phone to’ a number. Phone is followed immediately by a noun or number: She phoned her friend Judy. | Phone 01279–623772 and ask to speak to Elaine.THESAURUSphone to speak to someone by telephone. Phoneis more common in British English than American English: · I’ll phone you tomorrow.call to phone someone. Call is used in both British and American English: · One of the neighbors called the police.· Call me later.ring British English spoken to phone someone. Ring is more informal than phone or call: · I can ring her at the office tomorrow.give somebody a call (also give somebody a ring) spoken to phone someone: · If you ever come to Seattle, give me a call.· I’ll give the hospital a ring and see how he is.telephone formal to phone someone: · Angry listeners telephoned the BBC to complain.Skype /skaɪp/ trademark to make a telephone call using special software that allows you to make calls over the Internet: · I Skyped her last night and we spoke for hours.phone in phrasal verb1to telephone the place where you work, especially in order to report something: I’ll phone in and let them know.phone something ↔ in I’ll phone the report in tomorrow morning. She phoned in sick (=telephoned to say that she was ill and could not come to work).2to telephone a radio or television show to give your opinion or ask a question: There’s still time to phone in before the end of the programme. → phone-in