voicemail

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   A system that records spoken messages when you cannot answer your phone.

   Grammar: Used without 'a' or a plural when talking about the service: leave voicemail, check voicemail.

   Patterns

   • leave voicemail
   • check voicemail
   • go to voicemail

   I called her twice, but both times it went straight to voicemail.

   Please leave voicemail if I don't pick up.

   He never checks his voicemail, so email him instead.

2. 2nouncountable

   A single recorded spoken message of this kind.

   Grammar: Countable here: one message = a voicemail, two messages = two voicemails.

   Patterns

   • get a voicemail
   • listen to a voicemail
   • leave someone a voicemail

   I got a voicemail from the doctor's office this morning.

   She left me a long voicemail about the meeting.

   Delete that voicemail — it's three weeks old.

Word forms

Common combinations

leave a voicemail

If I'm in a meeting, just leave a voicemail.

check your voicemail

Check your voicemail — the client called back.

go to voicemail

My phone was off, so the call went to voicemail.

voicemail box

Her voicemail box is full, so you can't leave a message.

a voicemail message

He left a voicemail message with the new address.

Synonyms and how they differ

message

More general: a message can be spoken, written, or sent online, while voicemail is only the phone system.

answering machine

An older device at home that records calls; voicemail usually means the network service on a mobile phone.

Word family

voice mail noun

Two-word spelling of the same thing, still seen in older or more formal writing.

Commonly confused: voicemail or voice mail?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “voicemail”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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