collect call
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of collect call
First recorded in 1965–70
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.
Although her children could be heard in the background of a March 20 collect call obtained by People, she referenced them being taken from her custody in another call two days later.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2026
A teaser for director Geno McDermott’s film opens with chilling audio of a collect call Hernandez made to his fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 20, 2019
Company product managers discussed testing new features to collect call logs on Android smartphones in a way that might have made it harder for users to understand what they were giving away.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 5, 2018
Lydia: On this we certainly agree: That glimpse of Jessa and Shoshanna watching “Scandal” and failing to accept a collect call from Hannah was not nearly enough of the girls for me.
From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2015
“I have a collect call from Lily Owens,” the operator said.
From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
