Definition

Noun: A printed directory or book that contains an alphabetical list of telephone subscribers (people and businesses) within a specific area, along with their corresponding telephone numbers and often their addresses.

Usage

The term "telephone book" refers to the physical book published by a telephone company or directory service. It is used to look up contact information. * I found his address by looking him up in the telephone book. * Before the internet, everyone used a telephone book to find phone numbers. * The new telephone book was delivered to every house on the street.

Advanced Usage

• "To be in the telephone book": To have one's name and number listed in the published directory.
  • Her number is private; she's not in the telephone book.
• "As thick as a telephone book": An idiom used to describe something very thick or lengthy, often a book or document.
  • The report he wrote was as thick as a telephone book.

Variants and Related Words

• Phone book (n): A common, shorter synonym for "telephone book."
• Telephone directory (n): A more formal term with the same meaning.
• White Pages (n): The section of a telephone book listing residential subscribers alphabetically by surname.
• Yellow Pages (n): The section of a telephone book listing business subscribers categorically by the type of product or service, traditionally printed on yellow paper.

Synonyms

• Directory
• Phone directory

Related Idioms

• "Let your fingers do the walking": A famous advertising slogan for the Yellow Pages, encouraging people to use the telephone book to find businesses instead of physically going to search for them.

Noun

1. a directory containing an alphabetical list of telephone subscribers and their telephone numbers