answering service

American  

noun

1. a service providing operators who answer a subscriber's telephone and take messages when the subscriber does not answer.

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Etymology

Origin of answering service

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

“We also had an answering service at the time. I’d do all my own billing.”

From Seattle Times • Aug. 16, 2023

"We'll have our answering service up tomorrow," Jerry Carr replied in jest.

From BBC • Mar. 19, 2021

In recent years he earned money through freelance I.T. work for local businesses, including answering service calls.

From New York Times • Feb. 24, 2021

From her home in the Philadelphia suburbs, Nin Bell works for an answering service, taking calls from people trying to reach more than 10,000 funeral homes and end-of-life companies.

From Washington Post • Sep. 12, 2020

Eventually a company representative or answering service picked up the call.

From Underground by Dreyfus, Suelette