boiler room

noun

Definition of boiler room

1 : a room in which a boiler is located

2 : a room equipped with telephones used for making high-pressure usually fraudulent sales pitches

Examples of boiler room in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Children play on potholed parking lots and in a boiler room with no lock on its door. — Richard Webner, San Antonio Express-News, "Refugees flee war-torn homelands for deteriorating apartment complexes in S.A.," 30 June 2018 And people running them can cast a much wider net with robocalls than boiler rooms full of humans. — Chris Morris, Fortune, "Why a $120 Million Fine Will Do Nothing to Stop Robocalls," 11 May 2018 The ship was hit by a German torpedo that plowed into the boiler room where Clevelander Louis Dobnikar, who'd joined the Navy during the Depression, was working. — Brian Albrecht, cleveland.com, "38 German subs sank 22 U.S. ships in Battle of the Atlantic 75 years ago," 20 Mar. 2018 For those who’ve forgotten, Belfort operated a penny-stock boiler room on New York’s Long Island called Stratton Oakmont Inc. — Fortune, "'Wolf of Wall Street' Jordan Belfort Isn't Paying Debts, Prosecutors Say," 16 May 2018 Ansay's proposal calls for demolishing the St. Mary's School boiler room addition, at the building's northeast corner, to create an accessible entrance and possible street-level retail space, McCain said. — Tom Daykin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Developer proposes turning century-old school near Port Washington's lakefront into apartments," 15 May 2018 The explosion engulfed the boiler room and echoed throughout the Tuscania. — Richard Kurin, Smithsonian, "A Hundred-Year-Old Handmade American Flag Flies Home… to Scotland," 30 Apr. 2018 One tableau features a gaunt and sooty man shoveling coal in what looks like the boiler room of a penal colony. — David Segal, New York Times, "In Brexit Vote, Town’s Nostalgia for Seafaring Past Muddied Its Future," 23 Apr. 2018 His father worked in the boiler room of a municipal bathhouse, and his mother in a high-school cafeteria. — Junot Díaz, The New Yorker, "A Flawless Silence," 17 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'boiler room.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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The first known use of boiler room was in 1820

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boiler room

noun

Financial Definition of boiler room

What It Is

A boiler room is a call center in which salespeople call potential investors in an attempt to sell risky, or even falsified, investment opportunities using aggressive and unethical tactics.

How It Works

The term came about as a result of the high pressure sales environment it creates. Most salespeople in these environments work solely on commission and many of the investment opportunities are less-than-legitimate.

The salesperson may use fake reports or documents to support claims of profits or legitimacy. During the sales call, aggressive tactics are used to intimidate and entice naïve and non-investment-savvy consumers to partake in an investment scam that may have little, if any, true value. The salespeople try to entice potential investors by promising or hinting at huge returns on their investment.

Why It Matters

If not illegal, the sales tactics that are used in boiler rooms do not conform to government regulations or fair market rules. Boiler room salespeople maximize their income by conveying one-sided, or even false, information in order to persuade as many customers as possible to invest as quickly as possible.

Source: Investing Answers

boiler room

noun