How to Use answering machine in a Sentence
answering machine
noun- I haven't spoken to him yet, but he left a message on my answering machine.
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My parents called the parents of the boy across the street and played them the answering machine tape.
—Emily Meg Weinstein, Longreads, 20 Apr. 2018
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If no one is present, a message can be left on the answering machine.
—courant.com, 6 Apr. 2022
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Let people go to the answering machine or leave a note.
—Ling Ma, The New Yorker, 4 July 2022
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The voice mail greeting on his answering machine said it was turned off.
—John Reinan, Star Tribune, 1 Aug. 2020
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Mark McGrath calls his ex, gets her answering machine, begs her to come back.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 10 Sep. 2021
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One of the Janes had an early version of an answering machine that was kept in someone’s closet on a reel-to-reel.
—Kim Bellware, Washington Post, 14 May 2022
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This Is John,’’ about a man struggling to record a coherent answering machine message, for just $3 — the cost of a blank tape.
—Sonia Rao, BostonGlobe.com, 24 May 2018
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Two names still on the recorded message of a home answering machine in Dennis.
—Evan Allen and Beth Teitell, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Mar. 2021
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Don’t click on links in the message, or call phone numbers that are left on your answering machine, either.
—baltimoresun.com, 27 Aug. 2019
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Only 7,589 of the calls were answered; the rest either didn’t connect, went to an answering machine, or hit a busy signal.
—Joaquin Palomino, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 Jan. 2018
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The office phone rang, and for a moment, Ms. Faust considered letting the call go to her answering machine.
—Chelsia Rose Marcius, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2023
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Her parents weren’t home, so Kristin left a voicemail on their answering machine.
—Dateline Nbc, NBC News, 4 Apr. 2023
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After an hour-long drive home, there were two messages on my answering machine.
—Gary Trust, Billboard, 19 Dec. 2019
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Snail mail has gone the way of folding maps, modems, floppy disks, video tapes, answering machines, pay phones, typewriters, pagers and books.
—Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2018
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Berry, who is now eighty-four, does not own a computer or a cell phone, and his landline is not connected to an answering machine.
—Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 29 May 2019
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Not long afterward, my boyfriend and I were awakened in the middle of the night by that distinctive monotone drawling on the answering machine, agreeing to do the project.
—Molly Ringwald, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2022
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The text message string between the mother and son came after a voicemail was left on the Crumbleys' answering machine.
—Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, 9 Feb. 2022
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There also is an answering machine taking calls at all times.
—Roxanne Washington, cleveland, 5 Oct. 2019
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Hours before her killing, the friend said, Patrice had left angry voicemails on his answering machine, threatening to expose the tryst.
—John H. Tucker, Popular Mechanics, 10 Nov. 2022
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Blake Bailey is breathless, having ascended two flights of stairs in trying to grab the phone before the answering machine kicks in.
—Michael Granberry, Dallas News, 8 Apr. 2021
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In some cases, people get an answering machine or a busy signal.
—Alex Demarban, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Apr. 2018
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In the beginning, the answering machine would explain how to contact the two clergy on call for an in-person appointment.
—Becca Andrews, The New Republic, 3 Oct. 2022
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The only real-world information provided comes in code: When the phone rings downstairs, the children lie with their ears pressed to the floor to make out the messages on the answering machine.
—New York Times, 15 Aug. 2019
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After a few rings, her old school answering machine answered.
—Kim Komando, USA TODAY, 8 Apr. 2021
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A few days before Christmas, a message was left on the Meeker Mansion’s answering machine.
—Allison Needles, The Seattle Times, 3 Jan. 2018
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Stanke says his greatest discovery came through the answering machine tapes.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 13 Dec. 2021
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Jamie's answering machine recording sounded like a snowglobe or music box was in the background.
—Rosie Knight, refinery29.com, 1 June 2021
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Wordless messages were left on my answering machine, but those ended after a few days.
—Hiromi Kawakami, The New Yorker, 3 July 2023
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Despite all this, AT&T did not produce anything like an answering machine until the 1950s.
—K.n.c., The Economist, 8 Nov. 2019
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'answering machine.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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