Phonemark
noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A non-legislative designation by a telephone call from a legislator, of specific projects for funding as part of funding for more general programs.
"They were earmarks by another name. The techniques employed included “lettermarks,” members writing to administrators to urge that home-based projects be funded; “phonemarks,” calling executive officials to request money for projects in their states or districts; and "soft marks." simply "suggesting" to agency officials that money should be spent on the lawmaker's project."
- 1 To apply pressure on a government agency to fund a specific project as part of a more general program. US, transitive
"Or worse, without earmarks the members of the spending committees can "phonemark" projects without anyone ever knowing"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"They were earmarks by another name. The techniques employed included “lettermarks,” members writing to administrators to urge that home-based projects be funded; “phonemarks,” calling executive officials to request money for projects in their states or districts; and "soft marks." simply "suggesting" to agency officials that money should be spent on the lawmaker's project."
Etymology
Blend of phone + earmark.
More for "phonemark"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.