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

In the first five months of the year, robocalls have gone up 11% when compared to the same period in 2024, the company’s latest analysis found. —Alix Martichoux, The Hill, 20 June 2025

In one such case in New Hampshire in January 2024, a robocall with a voice sounding like President Joe Biden appeared to tell voters to skip the state’s primary election. —Scott Thuman, Baltimore Sun, 20 June 2025

The telco that transmitted the spoofed robocalls also agreed to pay a $1 million civil penalty for not authenticating the caller as required by FCC rules. —ArsTechnica, 15 May 2025

That approach has helped reduce robocalls and identify bad actors. —James Garvert, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

robot + -o- + call entry 2

First Known Use

1993, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for robocall

• aerosol
• alcohol
• arbitral
• basketball
• butanol
• cannonball
• carbinol
• catarrhal
• cortisol
• ethanol
• fireball
• gasohol