voicemail

noun

voice·​mail ˈvȯis-ˌmāl 

variants or less commonly voice mail or voice-mail

plural voicemails also voice mails or voice-mails

1

: an electronic communication system in which spoken messages are recorded or digitized and stored for later playback by the intended recipient

left a message on the company's voicemail

let the call go to voicemail

I tried calling him twice but I only got his voicemail.

Most vehicles are equipped with hands-free technology for cellphones. However, hands-free does not mean distraction-free. Silence the unit while driving or set up an auto-response that sends calls directly to voicemail.

—Kevin Martin

a voice-mail system

voice-mail messages

2

a

: messages received through a voicemail system

checking her voicemail

b

: a voicemail message

listening to a voicemail

Examples of voicemail in a Sentence

Just leave a message on my voice mail.

I left her a voice mail.

You have two new voice mails.

Recent Examples on the Web

What To Know Mamdani's office received four threatening voicemails from an unknown individual, a spokesperson for his campaign told various news outlets. —Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 June 2025

The unidentified man made the threat in a voicemail left with Assemblyman Mamdani’s office in Queens on Wednesday. —Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 19 June 2025

This would mean an internet in which every search, set of directions, dinner recommendation, event synopsis, voicemail summary, and email is a tiny bit suspect; in which digital services that essentially worked in the 2010s are just a little bit unreliable. —Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 18 June 2025

Robert Davis Forney of Duluth, Georgia, is accused of leaving threatening voicemails for Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska in January, according to federal prosecutors. —Doc Louallen, ABC News, 16 June 2025

In the hours after prosecutors say O’Keefe died, Read called him dozens of times, testimony showed, leaving eight scathing voicemails. —Dakin Andone, CNN Money, 11 June 2025

Younger employees and colleagues almost always default to text or email, rarely leave a voicemail (although neither do I), and sometimes seem uncomfortable on the phone or in face-to-face conversations. —Chris Perry, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025

Jarvis did not respond to a voicemail seeking comment. —Paige Pfleger, ProPublica, 7 June 2025

Online records didn't show booking or lawyer information for Killian and the county court clerk's office's phone didn't accept voicemails Tuesday evening. —CBS News, 4 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for voicemail

• abigail
• cottontail
• countervail
• fingernail
• martingale
• mesoscale
• microscale
• monorail
• nanoscale
• ponytail
• swallowtail
• wensleydale

Kids Definition

voice mail

noun

: an electronic communication system in which spoken messages are recorded for later playback to the intended recipient

also : such a message