autodialer

American  

[aw-toh-dahy-uh-ler, -dahy-ler] / ˈɔ toʊˌdaɪ ə lər, -ˌdaɪ lər /

Or auto-dialer

noun

1. a telephone device that makes possible a service feature autodial whereby a call is automatically made in response to a brief input signal from the user, as the pressing of a button.

   I programmed my number into the first memory slot of the autodialer on Grandma’s phone.

2. a computer program that dials phone numbers from a predetermined or algorithmically derived list, connecting a phone operator with one call after another, as in a telemarketing call center.

   The autodialer maximizes operators’ efficiency by connecting them only to the calls that are answered.

3. robocall.

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Etymology

Origin of autodialer

First recorded in 1960–65; auto- ³ ( def. ) + dialer ( def. )

Example Sentences

Robotext scammers “are increasingly using equipment that does not satisfy the definition of an autodialer under the law,” FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel told a House oversight subcommittee in a letter that December.

From Los Angeles Times

Although robocalls are a huge problem on American phone networks, it says “expanding the definition of an autodialer to encompass any equipment that merely stores and dials telephone numbers would take a chainsaw to these nuanced problems.”

From The Verge

“Duguid’s interpretation of an autodialer would capture virtually all modern cell phones,” the opinion says.

From The Verge

Officials said Rhodes used an autodialer to make 827 calls between Aug. 28 and Aug. 30, 2018, to numbers in Brooklyn, Iowa.

From Seattle Times

The government said in a court filing Tuesday that “with little more than off the shelf VoIP technology, an autodialer and a business relationship with a gateway carriers, any individual or entity with a broadband internet connection can introduce unlimited numbers of robocalls into the U.S. telephone system from any location in the world.”

From Reuters