What does answerphone mean?
An answerphone is a device, typically attached to a landline telephone, that automatically answers incoming calls when the subscriber cannot — or chooses not to — respond, playing a recorded greeting and inviting the caller to leave a spoken message. The term is used chiefly in British English, where it competes with the variant 'ansaphone'; American speakers more commonly say 'answering machine', while the network-based service that has since displaced these devices is universally known as voicemail. In everyday use, people speak of checking the answerphone, leaving a message on it, or playing back what it has recorded. Once a fixture of homes and small offices in the 1980s and 1990s, the answerphone now carries a distinctly retro flavour, evoking blinking red lights and cassette tapes. It remains a useful word for anyone writing about, reading about, or nostalgically recalling the era of fixed-line telephony.
nounA machine connected to a telephone that automatically answers incoming calls and records messages left by callers when the person called is unavailable.
- A device that answers a telephone automatically and records messages from callers when the owner is unavailable.
"She played back the messages on her answerphone and discovered she had won tickets to the concert."
"He let the answerphone pick up while he finished cooking dinner."
"The small business relied on its answerphone to capture enquiries outside office hours."
Standard pluralisation applies; the plural is uncommon in practice since households typically own one device.
"The office manager ordered two new answerphones for the reception desks."
Before voicemail existed, the humble answerphone used cassette tapes — one for your greeting, one for recording callers — meaning you could literally run out of tape mid-message.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of answerphone
The word answerphone was coined in the twentieth century as a straightforward compound of 'answer' and 'phone', both elements of long standing in English: 'answer' derives ultimately from Old English 'andswaru', while 'phone' is a late nineteenth-century shortening of 'telephone', itself built from Greek roots ('tēle', far, and 'phōnē', sound). The compound emerged once automatic answering devices became commercially available in the mid-twentieth century, first gaining wide currency in Britain. Its sibling terms — the American 'answering machine' and the British variant 'ansaphone' — reflect parallel naming traditions rather than shared derivation beyond the common 'phone' element.
How answerphone is actually used
Chiefly British English; in American English the equivalent term is 'answering machine'. The word has become somewhat dated now that voicemail and mobile phones have largely replaced dedicated answering devices, giving it a slightly retro connotation. The variant spelling 'ansaphone' is also seen in British usage.
Easily confused with answerphone
An answerphone is a physical machine attached to an analogue telephone, whereas voicemail is a network-based service that stores messages remotely with the phone provider.