Phrase guide

candlestick telephone

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An early style of telephone with a mouthpiece (transmitter) mounted at the top of its stand, and a receiver that was held by the user to the ear during a call. When not in use, the receiver rested in the fork of the switch hook protruding to the side of the stand, thereby disconnecting the audio circuit from the network.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: historical

Topics: communications, electrical-engineering, engineering, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, telecommunications, telephony

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: candlestick phone, daffodil telephone, pedestal telephone, pillar telephone, stick phone

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.