answering machine

noun

: a machine that receives telephone calls by playing a recorded message and usually by recording messages from callers

Example Sentences

I haven't spoken to him yet, but he left a message on my answering machine.

Recent Examples on the Web

Both the Pro and Pro 2 improve upon the Wired with dual-band Wi-Fi and Quick Replies, which essentially acts as an answering machine for your door. —PCMAG, 25 Nov. 2022

The game uses chat windows, answering machine messages, and emails to advance a simple, straightforward plot that has near-zero fat. —Matt Gardner, Forbes, 11 Aug. 2022

Well, technically their answering machine, as the aliens themselves have gone to Alpha Centauri for the summer. —Elliott Kalan, Discover Magazine, 11 Jan. 2011

Not long afterward, my boyfriend and I were awakened in the middle of the night by that distinctive monotone drawling on the answering machine, agreeing to do the project. —Molly Ringwald, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2022

Hours before her killing, the friend said, Patrice had left angry voicemails on his answering machine, threatening to expose the tryst. —John H. Tucker, Popular Mechanics, 10 Nov. 2022

His caution was born from experience: not long after the CCS launched, the service received a tip from a police department that officers had tapped the phone line at the church, though this was not the same line to answering machine. —Becca Andrews, The New Republic, 3 Oct. 2022

In the beginning, the answering machine would explain how to contact the two clergy on call for an in-person appointment. —Becca Andrews, The New Republic, 3 Oct. 2022

And … the answering machine had actually been unplugged … so those messages were not there. —CBS News, 24 Sep. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

1924, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

answering machine

noun

: a machine that receives telephone calls by recording messages from callers