landline

noun

land·​line ˈland-ˌlīn 

variants or less commonly land line

1

: a line of transportation or communication on land

especially : a telephone line that transmits signals from one station to another directly along a wire without the use of radio waves

It reminds me of the tipping point several years ago when people realized they no longer needed a telephone landline and would do just fine with their cell phones.

—Rana Foroohar

—often used before another noun

a landline phone

a landline network

2

: a telephone that connects by wire : a landline telephone

Of course, if you're really worried, you could ditch your cell phone for a quaint landline.

—Kiera Butler

Examples of landline in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Polling has evolved considerably from 2016, when most polls were still conducted via landline, even though at that point less than half of U.S. households had a working landline phone. —Nina Turner, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024

Most people no longer even have the landline phones which past election cycle polling history relied on. —Eric Rosenbaum, CNBC, 30 Oct. 2024

The national poll of 1,000 likely voters, taken by landline and cellphone Oct. 14 to 18, has an error margin of 3.1 points. —Susan Page, USA TODAY, 25 Oct. 2024

There were cellphone alerts, robocalls made to landlines, first responders going door-to-door, social media posts, and broadcasts disseminated through AM radio and local media. —Colleen Hagerty, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1865, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

landline

noun

land·​line -ˌ(d)līn 

: a line of communication (as by telephone) consisting of a cable laid on land