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Glite Dictionary
intercom

intercom

70 3.4
A device that lets people in different rooms talk to each other
  • noun
  • /ˈɪntərˌkɑm/
translation icon : interfono
  • Use the intercom.
  • an intercom system
  • use an intercom

You might have someone come on the the intercom and say, you know, boosters, check, door latched, check, seatbelts, check, right.

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Examples

  • The desks shared three phones: an outside line, an intercom, and a dispatch connection to Petrovka.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Delivery guys gotta use the intercom to get let in." Darcy nodded.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Take me off the intercom, please.

    Hope Floats (1998)

  • Sir, I think we should try the intercom.

    Elevator (2013)

  • Get the sound through the intercom.

    The China Syndrome (1979)

  • I'm installing a new intercom system on all the apartments.

    The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)

  • The captain's voice comes over the intercom.

    Holy Man (1998)

  • Clutching a towel, she went to her intercom and asked who was there.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • We recognize the workman who was fixing the intercom in Maria's apartment.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The captain announced over the intercom that the ship was turning around for an overboard passenger.

Synonyms

communication system
vsintercom
  • Specialized
22 3.0

A way to send and receive information between people or machines

focuses specifically on voice links inside one building rather than general information systems
interphone
vsintercom
1 8.4

A system of phones that connects different rooms inside a building or ship

uses a broader speaking setup not limited to telephone technology
intercommunication system
vsintercom
  • Specialized
4.8

A system that lets people in different rooms talk to each other

is the common short name used in everyday situations

Compounds

intercom speaker
  • Specialized
3.5

A small speaker that plays voice announcements from an intercom or public address system

How Secure

access code
  • Specialized
44 3.1
intercom
70 3.4
door phone
  • Indian
4.2
peephole
19 2.9
doorbell
144 1.0

Surface Forms

intercom singular
intercoms plural

Morphology

intercom = intercommunication (transparent) = inter + communication

The word is a clipped form of 'intercommunication' and retains the meaning 'communication between parts or places'.

Etymology

Intercom comes from the parts inter- and communicate; inter- means 'between', as in international or internet, and communicate means 'to share information'. So, an intercom is a system to 'share information' or to talk 'between' different rooms or parts of a building.