phone

A1 Topic:Technology & Computing

US /ˈfoʊ̯n/ UK /ˈfəʊ̯n/ See IPA manual

Freq #325

Meanings

1

noun
A device used to talk to people over distances, now often a small portable one that also runs apps.

She is on the phone with her sister right now.
2

verb
To call someone using a telephone.

Phone me as soon as you land at the airport.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a device used to talk to... telephone

2 verb · to call someone using a... call ring telephone

More amecheblower horn pipe

Word family

Forms phonedphonesphoning

Derived forms airphonebat-phonebatphonecameraphonecamphonecar-phonecardphonecarphonecell-phonecomputerphonecryptophonedataphone

Appears in

Phrases (8)

See all

phone call
a telephone conversation

Adjective + noun
answer the phone
to pick up a ringing phone and speak to the caller

Verb + noun
mobile phone
a portable wireless telephone

Adjective + noun
charge the phone
to replenish the battery of a phone by connecting it to power

Verb + noun
pick up the phone
to lift the receiver or accept a call

Verb + noun
pay phone
a public telephone that requires coins or a card to make a call

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound”).

*bʰeh₂- Proto-Indo-European φωνή Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Technology & Computing

External links

# phone

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈfoʊ̯n/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈfəʊ̯n/
**Frequency rank:** 325

## Meanings
1. A device used to talk to people over distances, now often a small portable one that also runs apps.
2. To call someone using a telephone.

## Examples
- She is on the phone with her sister right now.
- Phone me as soon as you land at the airport.

## Synonyms
- ameche
- blower
- horn
- pipe
- telephone

## Derived Forms
- airphone
- bat-phone
- batphone
- cameraphone
- camphone
- car-phone
- cardphone
- carphone
- cell-phone
- computerphone
- cryptophone
- dataphone

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *bʰeh₂-
- Root: φωνή

## Etymology
From Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound”).

## AI Etymology
Phone comes from Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound”). The historical chain includes *bʰeh₂- (Proto-Indo-European), φωνή (Ancient Greek). In present-day English it covers a device used to talk to people over distances, now often a small portable one that also runs apps and to call someone using a telephone. The wider family includes derived forms such as airphone, bat-phone, batphone, cameraphone, camphone.

## Topics
- Technology & Computing

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