Definition

1. Noun:
   • A telephone connection: A physical or logical link that enables telephone communication between two points.
   • The wire that carries telegraph and telephone signals: The physical cable, often a pair of wires, used to transmit electrical signals for voice or data communication.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The storm damaged the telephone line, so we had no service for two days.
  • Technicians are installing a new telephone line to the building.
  • In the early days, a single telephone line was often shared by multiple households.

Advanced Usage

• "to be on the telephone line": to be actively connected via telephone.
  • Please hold, the manager is on the telephone line now.
• "a dedicated telephone line": a line reserved for a specific purpose, such as fax or internet.
  • The office has a dedicated telephone line for the modem.

Variants and Related Words

• Landline (n): A traditional telephone connection using physical wires, as opposed to a mobile/cellular connection.
  • Many businesses still rely on a landline for reliability.
• Line (n): Often used as a shortened, informal form of "telephone line".
  • The call was dropped because of a bad line.

Synonyms

• Phone line: An informal synonym.
• Telephone circuit: A more technical term for the connection.
• Wire: In the context of the physical cable.

Related Phrases

• Hold the line: To wait on the telephone.
  • Can you hold the line while I transfer your call?
• The line is busy/engaged: The telephone line is in use.
  • I tried to call, but the line was busy.
• Down the line: In the future, or at a later point (idiom derived from the concept of a line).
  • We can make changes to the plan further down the line.

Noun

1. a telephone connection
2. the wire that carries telegraph and telephone signals