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Glite Dictionary
cellphone

cellphone

175 1.0
A small phone you carry to call people, send messages, and use apps
  • noun
  • /ˈsɛlˌfoʊn/
  • US
translation icon : teléfono móvil
  • I'm 18, and I'm sitting here arguing with my dad about my cellphone.
  • use cellphones
  • Internet and cellphones
  • such as cellphones

Last year I coincidentally noticed that if you ask Google for my cellphone number, it gave you an answer.

Examples

  • I said, when you are older, we will buy you a cellphone.

    Material (2012)

  • He forgot his cellphone at home and couldn't call for a ride.

  • - Do you have your cellphone on you?

    His Stretch of Texas Ground (2021)

  • We page him, and he calls back on his cellphone.

    Man on Fire (2004)

  • I called you on your horrible cellphone, but you didn't pick up.

    Lady of Guadalupe (2020)

  • It's just a lady... Out there having a conversation on a cellphone, but it's so quiet that I can hear her even though she's about 50 yards away.

    V/H/S (2012)

  • Some readily hand out their cellphone numbers to reporters and make themselves available for impromptu interviews.

    Academic text (2016)

  • The Federal Communications Commission bans cellphone calls on planes to avoid interference with ground networks.

    Blog text (9)

  • I tracked your cellphone.

    Playback (2012)

  • HOSPITAL CHECK-OUT - DAY: Amy in the check-in area, pacing on a cellphone.

    Fiction book (1999)

Synonyms

telephone
vscellphone
∞ 1.0

A device for talking to people far away

is specific about being portable and connecting via radio signals
cell
vscellphone
  • Informal
703 2.0

A mobile phone used to call and text people

is the standard formal description rather than an informal label
smartphone
vscellphone
227 1.8

A small computer you carry with a touchscreen that makes calls and runs apps

focuses only on basic portable radio connection without advanced computing
mobile phone
vscellphone
58 1.0

A small telephone you carry to call, text, and go online

is a shorter general description stressing portable radio network use
cellular phone
vscellphone
  • US
35 2.3

A portable phone people carry to call or send messages

is the common everyday term for the same portable radio device
cellular telephone
vscellphone
  • US
7 3.0

A small phone you carry to make calls and send messages from many places

is a broader everyday description focusing on portable radio connection
wireless telephone
vscellphone
1 3.3

A phone that uses radio signals so you can move while talking

applies to a single portable device that connects via a radio network
radiophone
vscellphone
  • Archaic
1 8.4

A telephone that sends voice or data by radio waves instead of wires

limits meaning to portable use within a cellular coverage area
radiotelephone
vscellphone
  • Specialized
6.5

A phone that sends and receives voice using radio waves

specifies portable radio network use within a coverage area rather than any radio line

How Mobile

cellphone
  • US
175 1.0
landline
38 3.3

Surface Forms

cellphone singular
cellphones plural
mobile phones plural
mobile phone singular

Morphology

cellphone = cell + phone (transparent) = cell + phone

The meaning is directly the combination of 'cell' (cellular area/network) and 'phone' (telephone): a telephone that operates via cellular networks.

Etymology

Cellphone comes from the parts cell and phone. Cell originally meant a small 'room' and in mobile networks it means a small area of signal you move through. Phone is the same part as in telephone, meaning 'sound' or 'voice', so a cellphone is a phone you can carry and use while moving between those small signal 'cells'.