Hold on a moment!

There are many common phrasal verbs that we use in telephone conversations. Here are some you might hear during a phone call:

Hold on! = wait
Can you hold on a moment?

Hang on! (informal) = wait
Hang on a second. I'll see if he's there.

Put someone through = connect
Can you put me through to Mr Roberts, please?

Get through to = succeed in contacting
Hello. I've been trying to get through to the manager. Is he in today?

Call someone back = return someone's call
I'm afraid he isn't in today. Can he call you back tomorrow?

Read something back = repeat information
Let me read the number back to you.

Get back to someone = contact someone later
I'm afraid I haven't heard from the suppliers. I'll call them now and get back to you later.

Cut off = be disconnected
Hello? I was speaking to your customer representative, and I think we were cut off.

Switch off = disconnect the phone
Please switch off all mobile phones.

Hang up = end the call by putting the phone down
This line is terrible. Hang up and I'll call you back.

Speak up = speak more loudly
I'm sorry, but I can't hear you. Can you speak up please?

Be tied up (informal) = be busy
I'm a little tied up at the moment, but I'll call you later today.

See also our article on call centre communication, making telephone calls, using a mobile phone, and managing a phone call.