landline

[ land-lahyn ]

noun

1. a circuit of wire or cable connecting two ground locations.
2. a telecommunications line, service, or connection that uses wire running over land or underground to connect to a network:

   telegraph and telephone landlines.

3. Also called land·line tel·e·phone [land, -lahyn , tel, -, uh, -fohn],. a telephone that is connected by wire to a network. Compare smartphone ( def ), dumbphone ( def ).
4. Citizens Band Radio Slang. a telephone.

Word History and Origins

Origin of landline¹

First recorded in 1860–65; land + line ¹

Example Sentences

I followed all the classic fangirl rituals: reading One Direction fanfiction, watching every interview the band gave, maxing out my parents’ landline phone bill by voting for them on The X Factor.

From BBC

Her phone number, for a landline, had long been disconnected.

From Salon

Even though for years he avoided public appearances, speaking to lieutenants through a secure landline network and to supporters via video link, the party faithful assembled in convention halls across Lebanon to hear his speeches.

From Los Angeles Times

On top of losing utilities, residents of 146 homes in the Portuguese Bend neighborhood — including Keefer and his wife — lost their landline internet connections when Cox Communications disconnected its service this month.

From Los Angeles Times

She cited spotty cellphone coverage, inconsistent internet service, interruptions to telephone landlines, and long wait times for law enforcement response as a “clear recipe for failure.”

From Los Angeles Times