(~s, phoning, ~d)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
The ~ is an electrical system that you use to talk to someone else in another place, by dialling a number on a piece of equipment and speaking into it.
You can buy insurance over the ~...
She looked forward to talking to her daughter by ~...
Do you have an address and ~ number for him?
= tele~
N-SING: usu the N, also by N
2.
The ~ is the piece of equipment that you use when you dial someone’s ~ number and talk to them.
Two minutes later the ~ rang...
Doug’s 14-year-old son Jamie answered the ~.
= tele~
N-COUNT: usu the N
see also cellular ~ , mobile ~
3.
If you say that someone picks up or puts down the ~, you mean that they lift or replace the receiver.
She picked up the ~, and began to dial Maurice Campbell’s number...
= receiver
N-SING: usu the N
4.
When you ~ someone, you dial their ~ number and speak to them by ~.
He’d ~d Laura to see if she was better...
I got more and more angry as I waited for her to ~.
= tele~, ring
VERB: V n, V
5.
If you say that someone is on the ~, you mean that they are speaking to someone else by ~.
She’s always on the ~, wanting to know what I’ve been up to.
PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v