nomophobia

noun

no·​mo·​pho·​bia ˌnō-mə-ˈfō-bē-ə 

: fear of being without access to a working cell phone

Using the online polling service OnePull, SecurEnvoy found that 66% of the 1,000 people surveyed in the United Kingdom say they fear losing or being without their phone. Just four years ago a similar survey found that only 53% of people suffered from nomophobia (no-mobile-phobia).

—Deborah Netburn, The Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2012

nomophobic

ˌnō-mə-ˈfō-bik 

adjective

The more powerful these phones get, the more we use and depend on them, and the more compulsive and nomophobic we become.

—Jay Fidell, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 24 Dec. 2013

Word History

Etymology

nomo- (from no mobile "no cell phone") + -phobia

First Known Use

2008, in the meaning defined above

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