caller
1 Americanadjective
-
(of fruit, fish, vegetables, etc.) fresh; recently picked or caught.
noun
-
a person or thing that calls, esp a person who makes a brief visit
-
a racing commentator
adjective
-
(of food, esp fish) fresh
-
cool
a caller breeze
Usage
What is a basic definition of caller? A caller is a person who calls, a person who makes a short visit, or a person who shouts out directions. By far, the most common use of caller is in the sense of a person who calls someone, especially using a phone. In the past, a person would hear from callers using wired telephones but today cell phones and smartphones are much more common.
- Real-life examples: Radio shows and podcasts might take questions from callers. A service known as caller ID identifies on a screen who is calling so you can avoid answering unwanted calls (be sure to answer when it’s your mom!). A dog will often run toward a caller using its name.
- Used in a sentence: My favorite podcast always ends with a Q&A session with callers.
- Used in a sentence: My house was a mess because I didn’t expect so many callers to come over today.
- Used in a sentence: My heart was racing as I waited for the caller to shout “B5,” the last number I needed to win.
Synonym Usage
See visitor.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of caller1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English. See call, -er 1
Origin of caller2
1325–75; Middle English, north. variant of calver fresh, alive (said of fish) < ?
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.
See Examples For:
“Be cautious of unexpected emails, phone calls, or text messages” related to the incident, including claims that the caller is from ETS or the state or a credit monitoring company, officials also warned.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
We also know they were later released on bail, and the BBC understands that one of the men was the first 999 caller.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
From the invention of the answering machine to caller ID, Hall said people “really enjoy” having the ability to control when, and whether, they answer the phone.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2026
It was punctuated by an automatic voice saying the caller was a prisoner, which is usual practice for calls from Iranian prisons.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
He glanced at the caller ID: haazim farooqi.
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
Federal medical privacy laws generally prohibit institutions from sharing patient information, and the center's website says it requires callers to provide a code determined by the patient.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
For the past year, my phone hasn’t stopped ringing from callers wanting to learn more about how Mississippi improved its public schools.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Johnson recommended that beneficiaries be careful to guard against unsolicited callers claiming to be from insurers.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
In May alone, official data showed that 304 frequent callers to the Welsh Ambulance Service generated 2,999 incidents.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
He welcomed all the callers, but he had not much more to say than before.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
