voicemail

noun

voice·​mail ˈvȯis-ˌmāl 

variants or less commonly voice mail or voice-mail

plural voicemails also voice mails or voice-mails

1

: an electronic communication system in which spoken messages are recorded or digitized and stored for later playback by the intended recipient

left a message on the company's voicemail

let the call go to voicemail

I tried calling him twice but I only got his voicemail.

Most vehicles are equipped with hands-free technology for cellphones. However, hands-free does not mean distraction-free. Silence the unit while driving or set up an auto-response that sends calls directly to voicemail.

—Kevin Martin

a voice-mail system

voice-mail messages

2

a

: messages received through a voicemail system

checking her voicemail

b

: a voicemail message

listening to a voicemail

Examples of voicemail in a Sentence

Just leave a message on my voice mail.

I left her a voice mail.

You have two new voice mails.

Recent Examples on the Web

As Claude leaves a weirdly nonspecific voicemail for Valentina in the next room (another classic blunder), Roselyn scoops some cyanide-containing silver polish out of its container on his desk and stirs it briskly into his tea. —Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2024

As a sales representative for a legal software company, Tony De Leon used to spend hours cold calling prospects only to get their voicemails. —Rashi Shrivastava, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024

Cuarón underlines Catherine’s comical overconfidence by cutting from her self-satisfied voicemail to Stephen’s furious, frozen stare. —Ben Travers, IndieWire, 18 Oct. 2024

Guilt trip left in a voicemail Erase or ignore still? Or play it back all the time? —Brendan Menapace, SPIN, 9 Oct. 2024

In the voicemail, Purvis described a grievance with Arab people arising out of his criminal case and threatened to assassinate them, according to the news release. —Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 25 Sep. 2024

In February, New Hampshire residents received voicemails from an audio deepfake of Joe Biden, in which the President appeared to discourage them from voting. —Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 30 Oct. 2024

An Alabama man was sentenced on Tuesday to nearly two years in federal prison after leaving threatening voicemails for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her investigation concerning former President Donald Trump. —Nina Turner, Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2024

Hear from people who left CNN voicemails after each season of the podcast. —Alexandra Banner, CNN, 25 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

voice mail

noun

: an electronic communication system in which spoken messages are recorded for later playback to the intended recipient

also : such a message