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.
An art project called the Goodbye Line prompts passersby to make a collect call and say goodbye — to a loved one, a pet or maybe a part of themselves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 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
At the beginning of “The Rain People,” Natalie makes a collect call to her husband from the Pennsylvania Turnpike, saying she has to get away.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 2, 2017
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
Instead, a recording came on the line, saying, “This is a collect call from an inmate at the Massachusetts State Penitentiary...,” before another person chimed in.
From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks
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.
