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

Political robocalls and robotexts are different: political robocalls and robotexts to cell phones require advance consent, but texts sent manually can be sent without advanced consent. —Betty Lin-Fisher, USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2024

In the United States, a fake Joe Biden robocall was deployed last January in an effort to dissuade people from turning out to vote in the New Hampshire Presidential primary. —Will Knight, WIRED, 27 June 2024

Before the New Hampshire primary, a robocall deepfake of Joe Biden’s voice was sent to voters that tried to discourage them from casting a ballot. —Ted Johnson, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2024

In New Hampshire, deepfakes of President Biden were used to make robocalls and spread disinformation to local voters—and these threats only scratch the surface of AI’s ability to amplify cyber tactics. —Marcus Fowler, Forbes, 12 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

robot + -o- + call entry 2

First Known Use

1993, in the meaning defined above