Real Dictionary

telephone
countable noun: A telephone is the piece of equipment that you use when you talk to someone by telephone.
uncountable noun: The telephone is the electrical system of communication that you use to talk directly to someone else in a different place. You use the telephone by dialling a number on a piece of equipment and speaking into it.

telephone in American English
a system for transmitting speech or computerized information over distances, usually by converting sounds into electric impulses that are sent through a network of wires and cables: some systems transmit by means of radio waves
to convey (a message) by telephone
to talk over a telephone; convey a message by telephone
intransitive verb: to send a message by telephone
noun: an apparatus, system, or process for transmission of sound or speech to a distant point, esp. by an electric device
transitive verb: to speak to or summon (a person) by telephone

telephone in British English
noun: an electrical device for transmitting speech to a distant person

telephone in Hospitality
noun: The telephone is piece of equipment that you use to talk directly to someone else in a different place. You use the telephone by dialing a number on it and speaking into it.