pay phone

American  

noun

1. a public telephone requiring that the caller deposit coins or use a credit card to pay for a call.

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Etymology

Origin of pay phone

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

I went to a pay phone and called a Chrysler expert I knew about.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 5, 2025

As Chesnoff talks in the “Jinx” episode, red carpet footage from the “All Good Things” premiere briefly appears, as do clips of Lehrman posing as Katie and making a call from a pay phone.

From New York Times • May 12, 2024

Then came the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which allowed for increased competition in the pay phone market.

From Slate • Dec. 12, 2023

He used a pay phone in the lobby to relay updates to the newsroom, then spent a long night working on the next day’s edition.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 13, 2023

I went downstairs to my old friend the pay phone and called the number of Francis’s mother’s apartment in Boston, reversing the charges to my father.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt