telephone answering machine

American  

noun

1. answering machine.

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telephone answering machine British  

noun

1. the full name for answering machine

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Etymology

Origin of telephone answering machine

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

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

From New York Times

It wasn’t a fitting end for the man whose family remembered him as a hard worker who never cut corners, a genuinely kind person who kept his late wife’s greeting on his telephone answering machine so her voice would fill the house each time the phone rang.

From Washington Times

Not the first movie to make dramatic use of a telephone answering machine, this was probably the first to give the answering machine the last word.

From New York Times

A mid-song break is built on what sounds like a telephone answering machine message advising the caller that “I’m sorry, the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, ‘cause she’s DEAD!”

From Los Angeles Times

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