telephoning

Verb

telephone (third-person singular simple present telephones, present participle telephoning, simple past and past participle telephoned)

1. (transitive) To convey (information, a message, news, etc.) using a telephone (noun sense 1).
   • David telephoned his apologies to his mother. On the way we had had our first puncture, and had taken some time to change the wheel, as we were unable to find the jack.1926, Robert Byron, chapter V, in Europe in the Looking-glass: Reflections of a Motor Drive from Grimsby to Athens, London: George Routledge & Sons […], →OCLC, part 1, page 31
2. (transitive) To (attempt to) contact (someone) using a telephone.
   • The length ganger saw the train passing with the van derailed and promptly telephoned the Sandbach signalman, who restored his signals to danger, but not in time to stop the train before the final derailment occurred.1961 November, “Talking of Trains: Derailment near Holmes Chapel”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 652

   Synonyms:

   call, call up, drop someone a line, ring, ring up, phone

3. (obsolete, transitive) To provide (a place) with a telephone system.
   • The London County Council prepared careful estimates for telephoning London in 1898, and those estimates were submitted to Parliament. It contended that it could provide a telephone service for the County Council area of London at £38 per subscriber capital outlay, after setting aside the necessary...1901 December 14, J. Williams Benn, “The Telephone Deal”, in The Speaker: The Liberal Review, volume V (New Series), number 115, London; Paris: Cassell and Co., […], →OCLC, page 296, column 1
4. (obsolete, transitive) To transmit (sounds) over a distance.
   • Do you hear the chemical accents of the sun? / Do you telephone the roar of the waters over the earth?1923, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “[Trees] Bare Almond-trees”, in Birds, Beasts and Flowers: Poems, London: Martin Secker […], →OCLC, stanza 3, page 44
5. (intransitive) To (attempt to) contact someone using a telephone; to make a telephone call.
   • I came down like a wolf on the fold, didn't I? Why didn't I telephone? Strategy, my dear boy, strategy. This is a surprise attack, and I'd no wish that the garrison, forewarned, should escape.1913, Robert Barr, “The Mad Miss Maturin”, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad, London; Melbourne, Vic.; Toronto, Ont.: Ward, Lock & Co., →OCLC, page 139

See all 12 meanings of telephone