[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/telephone/)

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# telephone

noun (telephone, telephones; short: phone); verb (telephone, telephones, telephoned, telephoning — formal)

«telephone» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A telephone is a machine for talking to someone far away by sending sounds as electrical or radio signals. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/telephone/#m1)
2. To telephone someone means to call them on the phone. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/telephone/#m2)
3. A telephone number is the number you dial to reach someone. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/telephone/#m3)

### In the lessons

Everyday life and safety: children learn their parents' phone number and the emergency number — 911 in the USA and Canada, 999 or 112 in the UK and Ireland, 000 in Australia, 111 in New Zealand — and to call only in a real emergency, say their address and stay on the line. In science and history: Alexander Graham Bell is credited with the telephone (1870s); sound turns into electrical signals. «Telephone» is also a party game where a whisper changes as it passes along. Phrases: on the telephone, telephone number, mobile phone, answer the telephone, telephone box.

### Examples

- Learn your mum's telephone number by heart. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/telephone/#x1)
- The telephone rang during dinner. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/telephone/#x2)
- In an emergency, telephone 999 for an ambulance. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/telephone/#x3)
- Alexander Graham Bell worked on early telephones. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/telephone/#x4)
- We made a string telephone with two paper cups. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/telephone/#x5)
- Grandma telephoned to say happy birthday. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/telephone/#x6)
- Old red telephone boxes are still found in Britain. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/telephone/#x7)

### Note

The short word «phone» is more common in speech. The verb «telephone» is formal; people usually say «call», «ring» (UK) or «phone». Safety: never give your address or password to an unknown caller; hang up and tell an adult.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «telephone» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/telephone/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«telephone» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/telephone.html) on Mova free.