Meaning & use
answer phone
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Meanings
nouncountable
A device or phone service that records a message from a caller when nobody answers a call.
Grammar: Countable: leave a message on the answer phone.
Patterns
- leave a message on the answer phone
- the answer phone picked up
I left a message on her answer phone.
The answer phone clicked on after four rings.
He never checks his answer phone.
phrasetransitive
To pick up a ringing phone and speak to the caller, written as two words answer phone.
Grammar: Takes an object or none: answer the phone.
Patterns
- answer the phone
- answer the phone to someone
Could you answer the phone while I cook?
She never answers the phone during meetings.
Word forms
| plural | answer phones |
|---|
Common combinations
- leave a message on the answer phone
- Please leave a message on the answer phone.
- check the answer phone
- I checked the answer phone but there were no messages.
- the answer phone clicks on
- The answer phone clicks on after six rings.
- answer phone message
- Her answer phone message was short and cheerful.
- switch on the answer phone
- Switch on the answer phone before you go out.
Synonyms and how they differ
- answering machine
- Answering machine is the standard American term and also used in British English, but the physical device is rarer now.
- voicemail
- Voicemail is stored by the phone company or network rather than in a machine at home.
- message service
- Message service is a vague term that could also mean a person taking messages.
Word family
Commonly confused: answer phone or answering service?
answer phone vs answering service
An answering service is a company where real staff answer calls for you, unlike an answer phone, which just records.
Practice
Nobody picked up, so I left a message on the ___.
Choose one answer.
An answer phone records messages when nobody answers. A phone box is a public booth and cannot store messages.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “answer phone”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.