robocall

• robo call, robo-call

From robo- +‎ call. First use appears c. 1998 in the Associated Press Newswire.

robocall (plural robocalls)

1. (US) An automated phone call, commonly for telemarketing purposes, that uses both an autodialer and a recorded message.
   • 2006 November 6, Frank James, “GOP 'robocalls' enrage Democrats”, in Chicago Tribune‎^[1]:

     The e-mailers are upset about “robocalls”—pre-recorded, automated phone calls containing anti-Democratic political messages.

   • 2016 January 13, Ben Jacobs, “Ron Paul criticizes Cruz's absence from Fed vote in support of son's campaign”, in The Guardian‎^[2]:

     Rand Paul’s presidential campaign has drafted in his father, libertarian icon Ron Paul, to directly attack Republican rival Ted Cruz in a robocall in Iowa, the first time the former presidential candidate has gone on the offensive on his son’s behalf.

   • 2019 March 1, Gail Collins, “Let’s Destroy Robocalls”, in New York Times‎^[3]:

     Things are at least as bad on mobile phones, which were the lucky recipients of 48 billion robocalls in the United States alone last year.

robocall (third-person singular simple present robocalls, present participle robocalling, simple past and past participle robocalled)

1. (transitive) To make a robocall to.
   • 2007, Jackson Thoreau, Born to Cheat: How Bush, Cheney, Rove & Co. Broke the Rules—from the Sandlot to the White House‎^[4], page 197:

     Republicans robo-called Americans during their dinner and evening hours, blaming the annoying calls on Democrats.

• robocaller