diallers

Meanings

1. 1nouncountableBritishtechnical

   Devices or programs that automatically call phone numbers, often used by call centers.

   Grammar: Plural of dialler; British spelling, American dialer.

   Patterns

   • automatic diallers
   • a dialler for something

   The call center uses automatic diallers to ring customers in turn.

   Predictive diallers can annoy people by hanging up when nobody answers.

   Several diallers were running at once during the survey.

2. 2nouncountablecomputingBritish

   Malicious programs that secretly connect a computer's modem to expensive phone numbers.

   Grammar: Mostly historical, from the days of dial-up internet.

   Patterns

   • install diallers
   • remove diallers

   In the early 2000s, some diallers secretly ran up huge phone bills.

   Antivirus software began to detect diallers on home computers.

Word forms

Common combinations

automatic diallers

Automatic diallers saved the sales team hours of manual work.

predictive diallers

Predictive diallers call several numbers at once.

rogue diallers

Rogue diallers caused enormous phone bills for some families.

phone diallers

Old phone diallers had a rotating dial.

auto-diallers

Regulators fined the firm for misusing auto-diallers.

Synonyms and how they differ

autodialers

Autodialers is the American-style term and stresses the automatic calling, while diallers is the British spelling and is a bit broader.

callers

Callers are usually people who phone, whereas diallers are machines or programs.

telemarketers

Telemarketers are the sales staff, not the equipment that dials the numbers.

Word family

dialler noun

singular form

dial verb

to enter a phone number

dialling noun

the act of entering a number

redial verb

to call the same number again

Commonly confused: diallers or dialers? diallers or dialects?

Practice

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