toll call

noun

1. any telephone call involving a higher base rate than that fixed for a local message.

toll call

noun

1. obsolete.
   a short-distance trunk call
2. a long-distance telephone call at a rate higher than that for a local call
3. a telephone call beyond a free-dialling area for which a charge is made

Word History and Origins

Origin of toll call¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

The first $1,100 phone bill taught him the hard way that he was mistaken: The dial-in number was a toll call, unless you subscribed to a $100 plan that capped the costs.

From Literature

From one end of it to the other is a toll call, and if a man that was settin' at the table farthest from the kitchen ordered roast lamb he'd get mutton.

From Project Gutenberg