Meaning & use
lost call
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountabletechnical
A telephone call that cannot be connected or is cut off before the caller reaches anyone.
Grammar: Countable: use 'a lost call' or 'lost calls'.
Patterns
- a lost call rate
- the number of lost calls
The system was overloaded, and the lost call rate rose to ten percent.
Engineers are trying to reduce the number of lost calls during peak hours.
A lost call is recorded when the network has no free line for the caller.
Word forms
| plural | lost calls |
|---|
Common combinations
- lost call rate
- The lost call rate measures how many calls fail.
- reduce lost calls
- We installed new software to reduce lost calls.
- high number of lost calls
- There was a high number of lost calls after the storm.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dropped call
- A dropped call is one that ends suddenly during a conversation; a lost call never connects at all.
- missed call
- A missed call is one you did not answer; a lost call is one the network could not connect.
Commonly confused: lost call or missed call?
lost call vs missed call
A missed call is a call you did not answer, often shown on your phone; a lost call is a technical term for a call that fails to connect.
Practice
In a call center report, what does 'lost call' mean?
Choose one answer.
A lost call fails to connect because of network problems, so 'could not be connected' is correct. 'Forgot to make' is not a technical meaning, and 'wrong number' is a different situation.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lost call”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.