White Pages

Beginner 💻 Tech / IT

Definition

The section of a phone directory printed on white paper that listed residential telephone numbers and addresses organized alphabetically by last name. It served as the public record of who could be reached and where they lived.

Example Usage

In the 1980s, you could look up anyone's home phone number in the White Pages if you knew their name and city.

Origin

Contrasted with the Yellow Pages; the white pages were the standard phone directory listings first compiled when telephone service became widespread.

Fun Fact

The White Pages represented early concerns about privacy that would later escalate with digital data collection and the internet.

Source: Definition backfill (hailey)

Related Terms

Translate This Term

See “White Pages” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator