toll call

American  

noun

1. any telephone call involving a higher base rate than that fixed for a local message.

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toll call British  

noun

1. obsolete a short-distance trunk call

2. a long-distance telephone call at a rate higher than that for a local call

3. a telephone call beyond a free-dialling area for which a charge is made

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Etymology

Origin of toll call

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

I think the technology will be in place to offer the programming on a timed basis, like a toll call.

From Time Magazine Archive

A toll call, which must be relayed along a maze of loops and trunk lines, usually involves several skilled operators and a number of complex connections.

From Time Magazine Archive

The auto dealer in nearby Monroe made a toll call to find out if he was satisfied with a repair.

From Time Magazine Archive

The first $1,100 phone bill taught him the hard way that he was mistaken: The dial-in number was a toll call, unless you subscribed to a $100 plan that capped the costs.

From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz

From one end of it to the other is a toll call, and if a man that was settin' at the table farthest from the kitchen ordered roast lamb he'd get mutton.

From Gullible's Travels, Etc. by Lardner, Ring