handset

thumb|Classic handset thumb|Woman using a telephone handset (West Germany, 1988) thumb|Early 20th century candlestick telephone which required only the receiver to be held to the ear (United States, 1920s–30s)

A handset is a component of a telephone that a user holds to the ear and mouth to receive audio through the receiver and speak to the remote party using the built-in transmitter. In earlier telephones, the transmitter was mounted directly on the telephone itself, which was attached to a wall at a convenient height or placed on a desk or table. Until the advent of the cordless telephone, the handset was usually wired to the base unit, typically by a flexible tinsel wire cord.