pay phone

American  

noun

pay phones plural

1. a public telephone requiring that the caller deposit coins or use a credit card to pay for a call.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pay phones
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pay phone

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pay phone

In urban neighborhoods, the local candy store often had a pay phone and acted as a message center for the surrounding area.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026

I rushed miles to the nearest pay phone, to tell Mom and Dad the news: They would be going home.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 12, 2025

As Chesnoff talks in the “Jinx” episode, red carpet footage from the “All Good Things” premiere briefly appears, as do clips of Lehrman posing as Katie and making a call from a pay phone.

From New York Times ● May 12, 2024

Then came the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which allowed for increased competition in the pay phone market.

From Slate ● Dec. 12, 2023

There’s a pay phone with a yellow receiver.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini