cellular telephone
7
3.0
- noun
- /ˈsɛljələr ˈtɛlɪˌfoʊn/
- US
:
teléfono celular
- Iowa: Iowa prohibits the use of cameras, cellular telephones, pagers, or other electronic communications devices in the voting booth.
- cellular telephone use
How much is this Boost Mobile prepaid cellular telephone?
- How much is this Boost Mobile prepaid cellular telephone?
Examples
-
They say the damage to the tower has rendered all cellular telephones useless.
-
The density of cellular telephones in Hong Kong is higher than in any country in the world.
Academic text (1995) -
Could I use your cellular telephone?
-
What are you doing with a cellular telephone, son?
Fiction book (1996) -
Several police officers and community youth workers had cellular telephones.
Academic text (1997) -
When people got hold of the first portable cellular telephone, they didn't want to put them down.
-
There are something like twenty-one cellular telephone operators in Hong Kong.
Academic text (1995) -
Foreign companies now hold large shares in many sectors of China's economy, including in its markets for automobiles and cellular telephones.
Academic text (2003) -
Cellular telephones and telephones in airplanes are the latest advances in mobile communication technology.
Academic text (1994) -
She made an important call on her cellular telephone while waiting in line.
Synonyms
703
2.0
A mobile phone used to call and text people
227
1.8
A small computer you carry with a touchscreen that makes calls and runs apps
175
1.0
A small phone you carry to call people, send messages, and use apps
58
1.0
A small telephone you carry to call, text, and go online
35
2.3
A portable phone people carry to call or send messages
1
3.3
A phone that uses radio signals so you can move while talking
1
8.4
A telephone that sends voice or data by radio waves instead of wires
A phone that sends and receives voice using radio waves
How Fast
- Specialized
7
3.9
- Texting
45
2.8
- Specialized
- US
7
3.0
- Archaic
1
3.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'cellular' (relating to radio-cell wireless networks) with 'telephone' (a device for voice communication), yielding a phone that uses cellular networks and is portable. This adjective+noun composition follows standard, cross-linguistically common patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand the MWE.
Etymology
Cellular telephone comes from the idea of radio 'cells' that cover an area. Picture a map split into many small boxes, each with a tower that connects your telephone, so as you move your signal jumps from box to box. That's why cellular telephone means a portable 'mobile phone' that works while you travel.