handset

handset — 名詞

1. The casing of a mobile device that holds the screen and internal electronics, so

1.名詞B2
釋義

手機機身

不含電池和SIM卡的手機主體

The casing of a mobile device that holds the screen and internal electronics, sold or replaced separately from the battery and SIM card — if your phone breaks, you might keep the battery and buy just a new handset.

例句

Hui bought a replacement handset after cracking the screen of her old phone.

Hui 的舊手機螢幕摔裂後，她買了一個新的手機機身來更換。

handset as replaceable hardware component

Kian's handset stopped charging, so he took it to a repair shop near the station.

Kian 的手機機身無法充電，所以他拿到車站附近的維修店去修。

同義詞
  • phone body

    more general and less technical than 'handset'; used in everyday conversation

  • phone casing

    focuses specifically on the outer shell rather than the internal electronics

  • device body

    broader term that applies to tablets and other mobile electronics as well

文法句型

handset + verb (the handset features/stops)

用法筆記

In mobile-phone retail and repair contexts, this term refers specifically to the device body without the removable battery or SIM card — not the whole functioning phone with accessories.

常見錯誤

❌I dropped my handset and the screen broke, but the battery was fine.
✅I dropped my phone and the screen broke, but the battery was fine.
💡'handset' in this sense excludes the battery by definition, so mentioning battery separately is redundant unless distinguishing the phone body from the battery.
❌Handset' when you mean 'headset' (headphones with a microphone).
✅Use 'headset' for gaming or call-centre headsets that go over the head.

2. The curved piece on a wired telephone that fits between your ear and mouth, lett

2.名詞B1
釋義

聽筒

傳統電話的手持通話部分

The curved piece on a wired telephone that fits between your ear and mouth, letting you hear callers and speak back to them through one combined handle — also called a receiver.

例句

Tamar picked up the handset and dialled her grandmother's phone number.

Tamar 拿起聽筒，撥了奶奶的電話號碼。

pick up + the handset (common collocation)

Christopher placed the handset back on the cradle after finishing the call to his boss.

Christopher 跟上司通完電話後，把聽筒放回話機上。

place / put + the handset back on the cradle

同義詞
  • receiver

    shorter and slightly more common in everyday use; 'handset' is more precise in technical contexts

  • telephone receiver

    fully explicit, used in formal or instructional writing

  • earpiece

    narrower — refers only to the listening part, not the whole handle

文法句型

pick up / put down / replace + the handset

用法筆記

This sense is becoming less frequent as landline telephones are replaced by mobile phones, but it remains common in office settings, hotels, and older buildings. Distinguished from sense 1 by referring to the detachable receiver of a wired telephone rather than the body of a mobile device.

常見錯誤

❌She picked up the mobile phone handset and made a call.
✅She picked up the receiver of the landline phone and made a call.
💡Mobile phones do not have a separate 'handset' in this sense; use 'phone' or 'mobile' instead.