Meanings
proper nounPhillips Code (uncountable)
- uncountableA shorthand for the rapid transmission of press reports by telegraph.
Some acronyms make it, some don't. In Phillips Code, WHU stood for “the White House”; not even Potus uses that anymore. (Coming soon, to replace U.S. Government -- Gotus!)
1997 October 12, William Safire, “Potus And Flotus”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Origin
Named after its inventor Walter P. Phillips (1846–1920).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
Phillips Code. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Phillips%20Code
MLA
“Phillips Code.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Phillips%20Code. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Phillips Code,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Phillips%20Code.
Source: Phillips Code on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.