How to Use telephone in a Sentence

telephone

1 of 2 noun
  • I left the telephone off the hook.
  • You can order the cake over the telephone.
  • He slammed down the telephone.
  • She picked up the telephone and dialed the number.
  • I just have to make a quick telephone call before we leave.
  • They hired someone to answer the telephones.
  • The telephone has been ringing all morning!
  • All our telephones are cordless.
  • That was my homage to the telephone in Heat.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Jan. 2026
  • There are no cars, there are no telephones, there are no movies, no paved roads.
    — Peter Larsen, Oc Register, 10 June 2026
  • On each of these platforms was a telephone.
    — David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Flores could not be reached by telephone.
    — Christopher O'Donnell, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 June 2026
  • Tempers are short and telephones are rare.
    — Nicholas Pileggi, Curbed, 15 Aug. 2025
  • The odd thing about this show is that the conflicts seem to play a game of telephone.
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2026
  • In 1876, telephones were seen as a fad.
    — New Atlas, 19 Feb. 2026
  • So the grand dame got on the telephone and called the department store.
    — Louis J. Esterhazy, Footwear News, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Like many stations out this way, there was no telephone either.
    — Literary Hub, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Dispatch made contact with her by telephone.
    — Christina Hall, Freep.com, 12 Dec. 2025
  • Western Union was offered to buy the telephone patent but scoffed and called it a toy.
    — Kurt Snibbe, Oc Register, 7 Mar. 2026
  • There’s been a birthday cake bag in the past as well as a gingerbread bag and telephone bag.
    — Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 9 Oct. 2025
  • Once it’s received, an adoption counselor will reach out via email and telephone.
    — Maryanne Dell, Oc Register, 4 Apr. 2026
  • One photo shows a telephone with a speed-dial index.
    — Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 3 Dec. 2025
  • Green fields blurring past the windows, telephone lines trailing across the sky.
    — Clayton Davis, Variety, 13 Aug. 2025
  • Is there an overhead power or telephone line nearby?
    — Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 15 Feb. 2026
  • My internet and telephone come to $32 a month.
    — Terry Ward, AFAR Media, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Sometimes emails and telephone voicemails help.
    — John Moorlach, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Jan. 2026
  • The early presentation of the film is as sleek and charged as a cat on a telephone wire.
    — Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2025
  • The bird on a telephone wire looks exactly like the bird in a century-old field guide.
    — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
  • The job was uniquely powerful because in those days the telephone was all there was.
    — Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026
  • The Aldersons get a telephone so Jenny can call home.
    — Alice Burton, Vulture, 9 Feb. 2026

telephone

2 of 2 verb
  • He telephoned me to say that he was going to be late.
  • He telephoned to say that he was going to be late.
  • You never write or telephone.
  • And their parents had to telephone the witch to arrange for her visit.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 25 Dec. 2020
  • The brothers raced up to their high-rise office and tried telephoning her.
    — Dan Barry, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2023
  • On one occasion, an agent telephoned Clyne and asked to purchase two handguns.
    — Ruth Brown, idahostatesman, 15 Aug. 2017
  • Albert telephoned Breen right after.
    — Andrew Marchand, New York Times, 29 May 2026
  • After the service, Jamal, now 28, telephoned him to hang out with friends.
    — Keith L. Alexander, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2018
  • The Globe has e-mailed the defendants in the lawsuit or telephoned them seeking a response.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 27 Sep. 2019
  • The Taylors’ family members have not been able to visit or telephone them.
    — Yuri Kageyama, ajc, 10 Mar. 2022
  • Vice President Joe Biden telephoned and gave him his home phone number.
    — Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, 26 Sep. 2017
  • Or telephone them at 202-772-5600.
    — Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 12 Feb. 2026
  • Uncle Vernon had telephoned the police on more than one occasion.
    — Literary Hub, 13 Mar. 2026
  • Visitors will have to telephone upon arrival so residents can escort them in.
    — Anne Kadet, Curbed, 17 Apr. 2026
  • Now suggest that your keyboard-typing agent go offline and telephone the seller’s agent to get an explanation.
    — Pat Kapowich, The Mercury News, 4 July 2019
  • One of them, a tax attorney named Gordon, was coaxed onto stage for the purpose of publicly telephoning his wife.
    — Louis Bayard, Washington Post, 24 Apr. 2023
  • The clinician talks to school staff, surveys the child, then telephones a child psychiatrist and relays the findings.
    — courier-journal.com, 25 Mar. 2020
  • The auction expired with no bids and later Tomb telephoned the seller in Florida to see whether the car was still for sale.
    — Vern Parker, Houston Chronicle, 16 Aug. 2019
  • In addition, the union alleged on Monday, managers are telephoning pilots in the run-up to the vote to urge them to oust the union.
    — Josh Eidelson, latimes.com, 1 May 2018
  • Lodie telephoned another friend, prompting a group that included Iacoviello to come to the field.
    — Travis Andersen, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Apr. 2018
  • To guard against bias, each region’s survey was carried out by pollsters from elsewhere, who telephoned a random sample of residents.
    — The Economist, 11 Jan. 2018
  • Two of the combatants, one a Republican, the other a Democrat, telephoned him from a bar.
    — The Economist, 22 July 2017
  • An hour or so later, the Macclesfield manager, John Rooney, telephoned him.
    — Stuart James, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2026
  • Walsh was roused from his brief disappointment when the gossip columnist Louella Parsons telephoned him to learn more about the film project.
    — Richard Sandomir, SI.com, 21 June 2017
  • There’s some evidence that online scammers target younger people, while older adults are more likely to answer the phone, opening the door to telephone scams.
    — Annaliese Griffin, Fortune, 29 July 2022
  • He was bound with rope for hours in his basement, but eventually made it to a neighbors house to telephone police after regaining consciousness.
    — Edmund H. Mahony, courant.com, 12 Apr. 2021
  • Dixon meddled in an important instant-replay decision, telephoning in from his home to overrule the crew at the stadium.
    — oregonlive.com, 24 July 2019
  • Those who do not have internet access can obtain the same information by telephoning 211.
    — Dale Kasler, Tony Bizjak and Bill Lindelof, sacbee.com, 19 June 2017
  • Many customers who had emailed or telephoned the Sun Sentinel for help saw their power restored Sunday night or Monday.
    — Marcia Heroux Pounds, Sun-Sentinel.com, 19 Sep. 2017
  • Currently, customers who telephone Spirit and who are placed on hold have the option to enter into text conversations with agents who are online.
    — David Lyons, sun-sentinel.com, 27 Aug. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'telephone.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: