call waiting

American  

noun

1. a telephone service feature whereby a person engaged in a telephone call is notified by a tone that a second call is being made to the same number, and is able to talk to either party while keeping the other on hold.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

call waiting

He’s grateful the Kieltys are a success story, but remarks that’s just one call, and usually dispatchers don’t have time to reflect or follow up, because there’s always another call waiting.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2023

If we were lucky, we had call waiting.

From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2023

First Direct also had the shortest average call waiting time of 16 seconds.

From BBC ● May 23, 2022

The advent around the same time of call waiting similarly made human agency a deciding factor in whether you were available to talk.

From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2016

She holds the line until she is tempted to hang up, wondering all the while if her husband is trying to reach her from home, regretting not having call waiting.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri