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Glite Dictionary
voicemail

voicemail

127 2.7
A system that lets callers leave voice messages when no one answers
  • noun
  • /ˈvɔɪsˌmeɪl/
translation icon : correo de voz
  • You have reached the voicemail of John Martinez, please leave a message after the beep.
  • leave a voicemail
  • voicemail message
  • voicemail system

They have binders full of emails and texts and voicemail transcripts and other documents.

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Examples

  • Why are you even recording a voicemail anyway?

    Pretenders (2021)

  • This is Lauren's voicemail.

    #No_Filter (2022)

  • Then what about this voicemail on your phone?

  • And, like, my brother has this one voicemail from him.

  • There was a message on my voicemail from you, remember?

    Fiction book (1993)

  • I do it early, so I can leave the message on his voicemail before he arrives.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • I listened to your voicemail.

    Joy Ride (2023)

  • I've been trying to call you and your phone kept going to voicemail.

    Repentance (2014)

  • Lucas checked his phone for voicemail, found a message, and poked in the retrieval code.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • You've reached my voicemail; please leave your message after the tone.

Synonyms

answering machine
vsvoicemail
105 2.7

A machine that picks up phone calls and records messages when people cannot talk

is a remote network service rather than a physical device
phone message
vsvoicemail
19 1.0

A short voice recording someone leaves on a phone when the person cannot answer

is the system that stores and manages such recorded calls
voice mail
vsvoicemail
15 3.2

A phone service that lets people leave messages and hear them later when no one answers

is the same service but spelled as one word
telephone message
vsvoicemail
3 1.1

A spoken message left on a phone when the person cannot answer

is the service that receives and stores those messages for later listening

How Direct

to telephone
20 1.0
voicemail
127 2.7
to text
  • Texting
296 2.6
email
  • Texting
724 1.0

Surface Forms

voicemail singular
voicemails plural

Morphology

voicemail = voice + mail (transparent) = voice + mail

The meaning is directly composed from 'voice' + 'mail' to denote a messaging system for voice recordings, which is readily inferable.

Etymology

The word voicemail comes from the simple parts voice and mail, so you can think of it as 'mail' for your voice. It means the recorded messages people leave when you cannot answer the phone.