telephone book
5
1.0
- noun
- /ˈtɛlɪˌfoʊn bʊk/
- Archaic
:
guía telefónica
- If you need to contact a plumber, look him up in the telephone book.
- pages of the telephone book
- check your local telephone book
- read the telephone book
But he said it's the size of a small city telephone book.
- But he said it's the size of a small city telephone book.
Examples
-
Wide awake now, he got up, turned on the light, and felt for the telephone book on the bedside table.
Fiction book (1990) -
In the telephone book, I chose a locksmith named Smith because the name seemed fitting.
Fiction book (1995) -
Would he be in the New York telephone book?
-
I gotta look up a party in the telephone book.
-
We're in the telephone book.
-
The teacher taught students how to use the telephone book to find the names, addresses, and phone numbers of their sources.
Academic text (2002) -
Charlie sits at a desk, with the telephone book open before him.
Fiction book (1991) -
But he also found that the firm is no longer listed in the Hot Springs telephone book.
Fiction book (1995) -
You're listed as such in the telephone book.
-
If you ever need a pupil, Charles you'll find me in the telephone book.
Synonyms
60
1.0
A book with people's names, addresses, and numbers to call listed alphabetically
50
3.0
A book or online list of names and addresses of people and organizations
8
1.0
A book or list of people and businesses with their phone numbers
3
2.0
A book or website with a list of names in order and phone numbers
How Detailed
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a directory of telephone numbers' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'telephone' (relating to phone communication) with 'book' (a bound collection of information); readers can predict it means a book containing telephone information. This noun-noun compounding pattern is common across languages and follows straightforward compositional semantics, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The noun telephone book comes from the simple idea of a book full of telephone numbers. Before the internet, people received this printed list at home to 'look up' names, addresses and numbers, so the phrase means a book that lists phone details today.