colˈlect ˌcall noun [countable] American English
a telephone call paid for by the person who receives it

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

phone to speak to someone by telephone. Phone is more common in British English than American English:
I’ll phone you tomorrow.
call to phone someone. Call is used in both British and American English:
One of the neighbors called the police.
Call me later.
ring British English spoken to phone someone. Ring is more informal than phone or call:
I can ring her at the office tomorrow.
give somebody a call (also give somebody a ring) spoken to phone someone:
If you ever come to Seattle, give me a call.
I’ll give the hospital a ring and see how he is.
telephone formal to phone someone:
Angry listeners telephoned the BBC to complain.
Skype /skaɪp/ trademark to make a telephone call using special software that allows you to make calls over the Internet:
I Skyped her last night and we spoke for hours.
make a call
He made a few calls and then went out.
get/have a call (also receive a call formal)
At 11 in the evening we got a call from the police.
there is/was a call
There was a phone call for you.
answer a call
We’re sorry that we cannot answer your call right now.
take a call (=answer one)
Monica took the call upstairs.
return sb’s call (=call someone after they have tried to call you)
I left a message for her but she didn’t return my call.
expect a call
She’s expecting a phone call from Matt.
transfer a call (=connect one to another person’s phone)
The call was transferred to his secretary.
put through a call (=transfer or make one)
She asked the switchboard to put the call through.
a phone/telephone call
I had a phone call from Barbara in Australia.
a quick call
This is just a quick call to make sure you’re OK.
a local call
Local calls are free at weekends.
a long-distance call
I’d like to make a long-distance call.
an international call
a collect call American English (=one paid for by the person who receives it)
Can I make a collect call to Florida, please?
incoming/outgoing calls (=coming into or going out of a place)
You have to dial 9 first to make an outgoing call.
an emergency call (=to the police, fire service, or ambulance service)
The police normally respond immediately to an emergency call.
a hoax call (=one intended to trick someone)
They received a hoax call warning of a bomb in the building.
an anonymous call (=in which the caller does not give their name)
The £10,000 demand was made in an anonymous call to his home.
a crank call (=made by someone you do not know, as a joke or to annoy you)
The heavy breathing sounded like a crank call.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲