cold call

noun

: a telephone call soliciting business made directly to a potential customer without prior contact or without a lead
cold-call verb

Examples of cold call in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Fewer cold calls and check-ins free up time for vital tasks, resulting in teams moving faster, working smarter and delivering more value to their company and customers. Bek Abdullayev, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025 In this day and age, receiving a cold call at any time can be disarming, but Norway’s finance minister reportedly took a most surprising ring on the streets of Oslo earlier this month. Leonie Kidd, CNBC, 24 Aug. 2025 Never trust a cold call, email, or mailed offer without confirmation. Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2025 That kind of third-party validation builds the kind of credibility no cold call ever could. Allen Buchanan, Oc Register, 7 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for cold call

Word History

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cold call was in 1966

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Cite this Entry

“Cold call.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cold%20call. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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