# telephone

Pronunciation: US say "TEL-uh-fohn" /ˈtɛl.əˌfoʊn/; UK say "TEL-i-fohn" /ˈtɛl.ɪˌfəʊn/

## Noun

1. A device that carries speech as signals over wires or radio so that people at a distance can talk to each other; also, its handheld part containing the earpiece and mouthpiece.
   - Simple: A device for talking with someone far away, or the part of it you hold to your ear and mouth.
   - _She lifted the telephone and dialed the number from memory._
   - _Most offices replaced their desk telephones with mobile devices years ago._
3. A game in which a message is whispered from person to person, becoming distorted by the time it reaches the end of the line. *(Canada, US)*
   - Simple: A party game where players whisper a message down a line, and it changes by the end.
   - _The teacher organized a round of telephone to settle the class down._
   - _Telephone always shows how quickly a simple sentence can mutate._
4. A situation in which an original message becomes distorted and misunderstood as it is passed from person to person. *(Canada, US)*
   - Simple: A situation where a message gets changed and confused as it passes from one person to another.
   - _By the time the new policy reached the warehouse floor, a long game of telephone had twisted it into something nobody intended._
   - _The eyewitness accounts became a game of telephone, each retelling less accurate than the last._

## Verb

2. To call or try to call someone by telephone, or to pass on a message or information to someone by telephone.
   - Simple: To call someone on the phone, or to give someone a message or information by phone.
   - _I'll telephone the doctor first thing tomorrow morning._
   - _She telephoned ahead to make sure the shop was open._

## Origin

Alexander Graham Bell first used this word for the modern instrument in 1876, though earlier devices had also borne the name. In its modern sense it followed German Telephon, ultimately from Ancient Greek têle ('afar') plus phōnḗ ('voice, sound').

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/telephone (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).