How to Use on the phone in a Sentence

on the phone

idiom
Definition of on the phonenext
  • Avoid talking on the phone in the train cars, and keep your voice down when chatting with travel companions.
    — Lindsay Cohn, Travel + Leisure, 17 July 2024
  • In another case, my crush and I called each other on the phone and spoke for 15 straight hours until driving across state lines to meet each other the next day.
    — Amalie MacGowan, Them, 18 July 2024
  • Terry came across as gruff and crass on the phone that day.
    — Jessica Lucas, Rolling Stone, 2 May 2023
  • But President Biden has been on the phone just in the last 24 hours with the emir of Qatar.
    — Nbc Universal, NBC News, 26 Nov. 2023
  • Robin then heard what sounded like Bob’s voice on the phone.
    — Charles Bethea, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2024
  • That’s what got us back on the phone just talking about hip-hop.
    — Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 28 Dec. 2023
  • The film opens with Trayvon Martin (Myles Frost) walking to the store while on the phone with a friend.
    — Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Sep. 2023
  • In the video, Hartwell is talking on the phone while away at a hotel for a 2019 bowl game for the school.
    — Courtney Tanner, The Salt Lake Tribune, 21 Aug. 2023
  • The crazy little scene that the movie turns on is Matt and Viola on the phone.
    — Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Dec. 2023
  • He often gets asked by younger fans to talk to their moms and aunties on the phone.
    — Elahe Izadi, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2024
  • German on the streets, my mother and my father on the phone.
    — Sara Freeman, The Atlantic, 27 June 2023
  • Khloé then gets sister Kourtney on the phone so Kris can tell her the news.
    — Vanessa Etienne, Peoplemag, 4 July 2024
  • She was fixated on the phone, the world around her reduced to a tiny screen.
    — Timothy McLaughlin, Washington Post, 3 Nov. 2023
  • Honea, who was on the phone at the time, walked back toward the group as another deputy opened the box.
    — Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024
  • The film opens with him chatting with a friend on the phone and grabbing some candy.
    — Ruhama Wolle, Glamour, 12 Jan. 2024
  • What led to that moment? Ms. Tyson and I would speak daily on the phone first in the mornings at 9:30.
    — Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 24 Jan. 2024
  • Are lies more prevalent on text or email than on the phone or in person?
    — Christian B. Miller, CNN, 25 June 2024
  • When the headphones appear on the phone’s screen, tap on them and then pick Pair to connect.
    — David Nield, Popular Science, 28 June 2023
  • Schulman and her son had an unbreakable bond, and the two spoke on the phone most days.
    — Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 7 July 2023
  • This means the Samsung Galaxy S23 can store more photos, videos, and apps on the phone.
    — Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 3 Dec. 2023
  • Also, when—not if—the battery on the phone dies, the compass is useless.
    — Craig Caudill, Field & Stream, 29 June 2023
  • In her Glendale apartment, Bruce asked if the man on the phone had time for a few more questions.
    — Emily Alpert Reyes, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2024
  • Bush Hager said, cringing her face and pretending to be on the phone.
    — Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 14 Sep. 2023
  • Maybe the band and him couldn’t twist my arm on things, but Clive Davis on the phone can certainly twist your arm.
    — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 10 May 2024
  • But Magdalena hadn’t been on the phone to hear that exchange.
    — Kevin Sieff, Washington Post, 21 July 2023
  • Behind him was his mother, with a knife in her hand and still on the phone with dispatch.
    — Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 8 June 2023
  • The White employee was on the phone while the Black one was free, not talking to any customer.
    — John Blake, CNN, 30 Apr. 2023
  • The two spent the day talking on the phone for several hours about what had happened.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 8 Dec. 2023
  • The second theft happened on April 23 when a man was on the phone outside Bonds, a bar in Mayfair.
    — Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 13 Dec. 2023
  • That could look like a 30-minute lunch break coffee with a friend or setting a goal to touch base with friends on the phone once a week.
    — Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 27 July 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'on the phone.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: