area code

noun

a three-digit code that identifies one of the telephone areas into which the U.S. and certain other countries are divided and that precedes the local telephone number when dialing a call between areas.

Origin of area code

First recorded in 1960–65

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for area code

area code

noun

a number prefixed to an individual telephone number: used in making long-distance calls

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