What does "handset" mean?

The part of a landline telephone containing both receiver and transmitter (and sometimes dial), held in the hand.

What is a synonym for "handset"?

Common synonyms include: french telephone, receiver, telephone, telephone handset.

//ˈhæn(d)sɛt// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The part of a landline telephone containing both receiver and transmitter (and sometimes dial), held in the hand.
"Helen hears the click of the handset at the other end of the line."
2
telephone set with the mouthpiece and earpiece mounted on a single handle wordnet
3
A mobile phone.
"Similarly, the handset can see more than one base station. Because the positions (longitude and latitude) of the base stations/Node Bs are known, then either a Node B or handset can work out the handset’s position."
4
A hand-held device for remote control of a piece of equipment.
"The locomotives can be driven from two positions in the cab or remotely from a radio control handset."

Verb

"The customer gets the best possible price for his old handset."

From hand + set.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.