Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
person-to-person

person-to-person

25 3.9
Two people meet and talk directly, without other people or devices
  • adjective
  • /ˈpɜrsən tə ˈpɜrsən/
: de persona a persona
  • Hello, I want to put in a person-to-person call to Terry Rooney at the Galor Studios in Hollywood.
  • person-to-person transmission
  • person-to-person contact
  • person-to-person communication

It's actually a transmission from person to person.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • I think having person-to-person contact is very important for mental health.

  • The strains of C. trachomatis that cause trachoma are passed from person to person through eye and nose secretions.

    Academic text (2004)

  • I, I think having person to person contact is very important for mental health.

  • I want to talk to Halloway person to person.

    Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (1996)

  • But like we're not really interacting person to person a ton with other people.

  • All modern communications systems have been destroyed, and information is now transmitted and received by person-to-person contact.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Look, I do business face-to-face, person-to-person.

    American Hustle (2013)

  • Shigellosis often is not foodborne; it is more commonly spread person to person.

    Academic text (2002)

  • I want to talk to Halloway person-to-person.

  • Like the Incarnation, our words are most effective when they are person-to-person and face to face.

Synonyms

in person
vsperson-to-person
373 1.6

To be present at a place rather than by phone or online

implies direct contact between two people rather than mere physical presence
face to face
vsperson-to-person
193 2.3

In the same place as someone and looking at them directly

focuses on contact between two people, not only the physical meeting
face-to-face
vsperson-to-person
157 2.8

Happens when people sit or stand opposite each other in the same place

is specifically about direct contact between two people rather than any group meeting
one-on-one
vsperson-to-person
145 3.1

Between two people with no one else present

is used when participants are physically present and facing each other
man-to-man
vsperson-to-person
  • Informal
41 4.1

Two people talk directly and honestly to each other

is about direct contact without implying a frank or candid tone
in-person
vsperson-to-person
19 2.7

People are in the same place instead of online

stresses direct two-person communication rather than just on-site activity

Antonyms

mediated
13 5.6

Arranged through a neutral person so people do not meet directly

How Direct

face-to-face
157 2.8
person-to-person
25 3.9
mediated
13 5.6
indirect
43 3.9

Surface Forms

person-to-person positive
person to person positive

Morphology

person-to-person = person (semi-transparent) = to + person + person

The phrase is clear in its components, but the specific meaning of direct communication without intermediaries is not fully transparent. [Postprocessing: moved 'to' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Person-to-person is a very literal phrase: it repeats person with to between to mean 'from one person to another'. Think of two people talking face to face with no one in the middle, and that is why it means direct contact or communication.