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telephone answering machine

American  

telephone answering machine British  

noun

  1. the full name for answering machine

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of telephone answering machine

First recorded in 1960–65


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:

“I’m around somewhere, probably just counting my money,” the message on his telephone answering machine said.

From New York Times ● Jul. 15, 2022

He retained it even under provocation, when, in 2008, rowdy telephone answering machine messages were left for him by Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross during the course of Brand’s BBC2 radio show.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 1, 2016

Lowerison returned from work to find a message on her telephone answering machine.

From Time Magazine Archive

The telephone answering machine subverts time: one leaves a surrogate self back in a little box at home, frozen in time, waiting to be roused by a ring: "Hello," one says, disembodied.

From Time Magazine Archive

Or to move the telephone answering machine away from the head of the bed.

From Time Magazine Archive

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