telephone set
1
1.5
- noun
- /ˈtɛlɪˌfoʊn sɛt/
- She reached for the telephone set to make an urgent call.
Examples
-
The company upgraded every office with a modern telephone set.
-
He accidentally dropped the telephone set, causing it to stop working.
-
The telephone set rang loudly.
-
I bought a new telephone set yesterday.
-
She bought a new telephone set to stay in touch with her family while living abroad.
-
The office replaced their old telephone set with a modern model that has a built-in answering machine.
-
During the conference call, everyone took turns speaking into the telephone set to share their updates.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A small device you use to call and talk to people
711
1.0
A device for talking to people far away
158
1.0
A small phone you carry to call people, send messages, and use apps
10
3.0
A small phone you carry to make calls and send messages from many places
5
3.3
A phone that uses radio signals so you can move while talking
1
4.9
A phone with a round dial you turn to call someone
1
1.7
A telephone that sits on a desk with a handset and buttons
1
8.4
A telephone that sends voice or data by radio waves instead of wires
1
3.0
An extra phone connected to the same line for use in another room
1
7.7
A telephone that has the mouthpiece and earpiece on one handle
1
6.5
A phone that sends and receives voice using radio waves
How Modern
193
1.8
74
1.0
5
3.3
1
1.5
1
1.6
- Archaic
1
6.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'telephone' names the communication device and 'set' in this pattern denotes the physical apparatus (cf. 'radio set', 'television set'). There is no idiomatic or metaphorical shift, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer it refers to the telephone device.
Etymology
Telephone set comes from early telephone equipment sold as a set, a group of parts like the mouthpiece, earpiece and base. So telephone set simply meant the whole 'device' you used to make and receive calls.