door phone
- noun
- /dɔr foʊn/
- Indian
:
portero
- We installed a new door phone so we can speak to visitors before letting them in.
Examples
-
The apartment building's door phone system allows residents to answer calls from the front entrance.
-
When a visitor presses the button, the door phone lets us communicate with them before opening the door.
-
If the door phone rings, please check who it is before unlocking the door.
-
The door phone rang loudly.
-
I installed a new door phone yesterday.
-
The door phone allows us to see and talk to delivery personnel without having to go outside.
-
She answered the door phone to ask the guest who they were before granting access.
Synonyms
A telephone at a building entrance that lets people inside speak to visitors before letting them in
A system that lets a person at the door talk to a person inside
How Secure
- Specialized
44
3.1
70
3.4
- Indian
19
2.9
144
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'door' (entry) and 'phone' (voice communication device): a phone located at the door used to speak with someone outside. This straightforward noun-noun composition is common cross-linguistically and follows transparent compositional patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the sense.
Etymology
The word door phone comes from its simple use: a phone at the door so people inside can 'speak to visitors' before they open the door. So it means a device that lets residents talk to someone outside and decide whether to let them in.