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Added 9 October 2026

phone

/ˈfəʊ̯n/ noun

First recorded: 1884 Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about phone at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A device for transmitting conversations and other sounds in real time across distances, now often a small portable unit also capable of running software etc.
Daragh's on the phone at the moment. He'll call you when he's finished.
A person's telephone number (as a means of contact); digits.

verb

To call (someone) using a telephone.
Phone me as soon as you land at the airport.
To say via telephone.

noun

A speech segment that possesses distinct physical or perceptual properties, considered as a physical event without regard to its place in the phonology of a language.

Origin

Clipping of telephone; first attested in 1884.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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