What does "answerphone" mean?

A telephone containing a built-in device for recording incoming callers’ messages for later retrieval.

What is a synonym for "answerphone"?

Common synonyms include: answering machine.

Pronounced //ˈæn.sɜː(ɹ)ˌfəʊn//.

//ˈæn.sɜː(ɹ)ˌfəʊn// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A telephone containing a built-in device for recording incoming callers’ messages for later retrieval. British, Commonwealth, Ireland
"I keep trying to call her, but all I get is the answerphone."

"Please leave a message on the answerphone."

From answer + (tele)phone.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.