flip phone

noun

A mobile telephone with a hinged top that is flipped open when the phone is in use.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounflip phone (plural flip phones)

plural flip phones · alternative flip-phone · alternative flipphone

  1. A mobile telephone with a hinged top that is flipped open when the phone is in use.

    Motorola's new flip phone doubles as a modem for your laptop.

    2000 April 3, “Contents: Cellular Browsing”, in Time, retrieved 18 Aug 2013
    2 more examples

    Brian (Kyle Secor) tells the salesman they'll be phasing out fridges and freezers for faxes and flip phones.

    1992 Sept. 3, "‘Ages’ takes time to look at signposts of life at 40" (review of TV show Middle Ages), Washington Times (retrieved 18 August 2013)

    They just will not help you do the hard work of finding someone who actually wants your contract and the vintage flip phone that came with it.

    2008 December 31, Bob Tedeschi, “With a Little Help, You Can Trade Yourself Free of Your Wireless Contract”, in New York Times, retrieved 18 Aug 2013

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
brick phone

Origin

A genericized trademark of the company Motorola for their clamshell-form mobile phones.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian телефон с копчета
  • телефон с копчета (telefon s kopčeta)mobile telephone with a hinged top that is flipped open
Chinese Mandarin 翻蓋手機 /翻盖手机, 折疊式手機 /折叠式手机
  • 翻蓋手機 /翻盖手机 (fāngài shǒujī)mobile telephone with a hinged top that is flipped open
  • 折疊式手機 /折叠式手机 (zhédiéshì shǒujī)mobile telephone with a hinged top that is flipped open
Finnish läppäpuhelin, simpukkapuhelin
  • läppäpuhelinmobile telephone with a hinged top that is flipped open
  • simpukkapuhelinmobile telephone with a hinged top that is flipped open
French téléphone à clapet
  • téléphone à clapetmobile telephone with a hinged top that is flipped open
German Klapphandy
  • Klapphandymobile telephone with a hinged top that is flipped open
Polish telefon komórkowy z klapką
  • telefon komórkowy z klapkąmobile telephone with a hinged top that is flipped open
Russian раскладу́шка-телефо́н, телефо́н-раскладу́шка
  • раскладу́шка-телефо́н (raskladúška-telefón)mobile telephone with a hinged top that is flipped open
  • телефо́н-раскладу́шка (telefón-raskladúška)mobile telephone with a hinged top that is flipped open
Swedish viktelefon, flipptelefon
  • viktelefonmobile telephone with a hinged top that is flipped open
  • flipptelefonmobile telephone with a hinged top that is flipped open
Turkish kapaklı telefon
  • kapaklı telefonmobile telephone with a hinged top that is flipped open
Cite this entry
APA

flip phone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flip%20phone

MLA

“flip phone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flip%20phone. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “flip phone,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flip%20phone.

Source: flip phone on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.