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Glite Dictionary
telephone conversation

telephone conversation

14 1.7
A talk between two or more people using a phone
  • noun
  • /ˈtɛlɪˌfoʊn ˌkɒnvərˈseɪʃən/
translation icon : conversación telefónica
  • After the telephone conversation, I felt more informed about the project's progress.
  • telephone conversation with the author

Maybe you can have a telephone conversation as long as it's a hand free.

Examples

  • Cell phones live in people's pockets, purses, or hands, and telephone conversations occur just about anywhere.

    Academic text (1999)

  • I had a long telephone conversation with my grandmother yesterday.

  • I remember the telephone conversation.

    Princes of the Palace - The Royal British Family (2016)

  • "We agree that the expert will review the records and have a telephone conversation with me."

    Academic text (1996)

  • Among employees, "E-mail should be viewed as a written memo, not as a substitute for a telephone conversation."

    Academic text (2000)

  • We know about the telephone conversations with Oliver Tambo.

    Winnie Mandela (2011)

  • We had telephone conversations and correspondence with various municipalities.

    This Is Elvis (1981)

  • Turks have grown uneasy about having telephone conversations, fearing intrusion into their privacy.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Tiel McCoy didn't begin this telephone conversation with any superfluous chitchat.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • During our telephone conversation, she shared her thoughts on the upcoming holiday.

Synonyms

call
vstelephone conversation
∞ 1.0

A time when someone phones another person

is a spoken back and forth rather than any single contact event
conversation
vstelephone conversation
∞ 1.0

A talk between two or more people to share news and ideas

is the same talk but specifically done over a communication device
phone call
vstelephone conversation
∞ 1.0

A time when you talk to someone by telephone

is a back and forth spoken exchange via the device not mere contact
telephone call
vstelephone conversation
57 1.0

A time when you speak with someone by phone

is a two way exchange over the same device rather than only the act

How Long

telephone conversation
14 1.7

Surface Forms

telephone conversation singular
telephone conversations plural

Morphology

telephone + conversation

The meaning 'a spoken exchange over the telephone' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'telephone' (the communication medium/device) with 'conversation' (a spoken exchange); the compound simply specifies the medium of the conversation. This is a common, compositional noun–noun construction found across languages and in English usage, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand it.

Etymology

Telephone conversation comes from the simple image of two people talking through a telephone — a small device that carries their voices along a wire — and conversation meaning a talk between people, so the phrase means a 'spoken exchange' that happens 'on the phone'.