Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A telephone call made by an automatic dialer, consisting of a prerecorded message, usually of a candidate in a political campaign.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun North America, pejorative An automated telemarketing phone call that uses both an autodialer and a recorded message.
  • verb North America, pejorative To make robocalls.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[robo(t) + call.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

1998, robo- +‎ call.

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Examples

Comments

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  • This robocall has John McCain in hot water right now:

    October 20, 2008

  • "An automated phone call that plays a recorded message." --Word Spy

    January 29, 2010