answering machine

American

noun

an electronic device that is attached to a telephone and that automatically answers callers with a prerecorded message and records their messages for later playback.

answering machine British

noun

Also called: answerphone. In full: telephone answering machine. a device by means of which a telephone call is answered automatically and the caller enabled to leave a recorded message

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of answering machine

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

DiBergi finds Tufnel working as a cheesemonger in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Smalls as the proprietor of London glue museum and St Hubbins living in Los Angeles making answering machine jingles.

From BBC • Sep. 11, 2025

When she got home from a movie with friends, Rebecca Hayter noticed a blinking light on her answering machine.

From Slate • Jul. 22, 2025

Maybe you’d meet somebody out, remotely checking the answering machine plugged into your landline for messages.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2025

I kept the message on our answering machine for years.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 3, 2023

But just hearing my bro’s voice on the answering machine, man.

From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023