robocall

noun

ro·​bo·​call ˈrō-bō-ˌkȯl 

: a telephone call from an automated source that delivers a prerecorded message to a large number of people

robocall transitive verb

robocalled; robocalling; robocalls

Poor small-town America. During the last gasps of this fevered election, pollsters, zealous campaign foot soldiers and reporters are kicking down its doors, figuratively speaking, robocalling its citizens during suppertime …

—Doug Colligan

robocaller noun

plural robocallers

Now the only people who use the telephone are campaign robocallers and the phone company, dunning me to switch to their new wireless plan.

—Richard Brookhiser

robocalling noun

Business organizations have warned that legislative action against robocalling that defines the practice too broadly could prevent legitimate businesses from efficiently reaching their customers with relevant information.

—Colin A. Young

Examples of robocall in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Burger points out that the FCC has taken steps to combat international robocalls. —IEEE Spectrum, 13 Feb. 2024

Federal authorities appear to have caught up to the culprit behind the barrage of robocalls placed to New Hampshire voters just two days before the state’s primary election. —Melissa Cruz, USA TODAY, 9 Feb. 2024

The federal government has banned robocalls using voices generated by AI and is offering a cash prize for solutions to mitigate harms from voice cloning frauds. —Huo Jingnan, NPR, 5 Apr. 2024

Americans got a preview of such mischief during the presidential primaries when a deepfake robocall impersonating President Biden instructed New Hampshire residents not to vote. —Meg Little Reilly, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024

After that call, the Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to ban unsolicited AI robocalls. —David Ingram, NBC News, 29 Mar. 2024

Federal regulators outlawed deepfake robocalls last Thursday, like the ones impersonating President Joe Biden in New Hampshire’s primary election. —Maxwell Zeff / Gizmodo, Quartz, 12 Feb. 2024

The Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, consisting of 51 attorney generals, sent a cease-and-desist letter on Tuesday to Life Corporation, the company allegedly behind the robocalls. —Melissa Cruz, USA TODAY, 9 Feb. 2024

In 2023, political groups made more than 83.4 million robocalls, according to Alex Quilici, the CEO of YouMail, a service that blocks spam calls. —Zach Everson, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

robot + -o- + call entry 2

First Known Use

1993, in the meaning defined above