Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

phone tag

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.38 in modern English

Syllables: phone -tag
IPA

14

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A situation in which two individuals attempting to contact each other by telephone repeatedly do not get a live person and instead trade messages, such as by voice mail.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

""What frequently results is a game of phone tag. One party tries to reach another, is unable to, and leaves voice-mail indicating an interest in finding a time to meet. The other party returns the call, more often than not fails to reach the original caller, and leaves voice-mail in response.""
""Avoid phone tag, which results when two parties go back and forth trying to reach each other by phone.""
""To reduce the time you spend playing phone tag, ask what time the client will be in and call back then.""

Etymology

phone + tag (children's game)

Usage

Uncountable

Synonyms

telephone tag

Questions

What does phone tag mean?: A situation in which two individuals attempting to contact each other by telephone repeatedly do not get a live person and instead trade messages, such as by voice mail.
Where does phone tag come from?: phone + tag (children's game)

How to pronounce phone tag

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “phone tag”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “phone tag”.
Repeat and practice — Say “phone tag” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.