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

There are routine drug/alcohol tests and calls during the middle of the night to a house landline to assure the person was indeed at home. —Walter Pavlo, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024

Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (125) and cellphones (699) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (191). —Dana Blanton, Fox News, 12 Dec. 2024

According to the Chamber of Commerce, nearly 69 million Americans still have a landline as of July 2024. —Addy Bink, The Hill, 10 Dec. 2024

Many residential landline customers also rely on copper wire lines to connect services such as security systems, and businesses use them to connect things such as elevator phones to landlines, Costa said. —Betty Lin-Fisher, USA TODAY, 4 Dec. 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