Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A telephone whose dial is a rotary dial.

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word rotary phone.

Examples

    Sorry, no example sentences found.

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • Nigh unto a museum piece.

    August 16, 2007

  • Oh, how I miss that clicking sound they make when they're dialing. ;-)

    August 20, 2007

  • My best friend had one for years. I always dialed the wrong number and had to try again. Man, I'd forgotten about phones with cords. Remember the extra-long ones that you could use to tie up your little sister? :)

    August 20, 2007

  • And little brothers. ;-)

    August 21, 2007

  • That extra long cord was very important for other reasons as well... Your only privacy from family eavesdropping was stretching it around a corner and into a hideyhole.

    August 21, 2007

  • Very true, trivet! Unless your mother is bound and determined to listen in and "accidentally" forgets to hang up the extension. ;-)

    August 21, 2007

  • My little sister always forgot and breathed into the phone...

    The best part of rotary phones, though, is the clankety-clank of someone answering or hanging up, and the squeaky little ring of protest if you slam the earpiece down too hard.

    August 21, 2007

  • Heehee! What cell phone users are missing.... ;-)

    August 21, 2007