phone bank

plural phone banks · alternative phonebank · alternative phone-bank

1. A collection of telephones within an organization such as a call center.

   When the hosts of "Good Day" offered viewers a chance to call in their comments, the number of calls overloaded the phone banks.

   1985 April 20, Christine Guilfoy, “Talkshow Cancels Editors of Lesbian Nuns”, in Gay Community News, page 1

2. A banking institution that does business solely or mostly via telephone.
3. governmentA political outreach event or strategy that involves making calls to potential voters by phone to get out the vote or collect voter data.

   Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) hosted a phone bank for [Angela] Alsobrooks that same day, while Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) led canvassing to support her in Baltimore last week.

   2024 October 4, Katie Shepherd, “Obama backs Alsobrooks, says Senate control ‘could come down’ to Md.”, in The Washington Post

present singular third person phone banks · participle present phone banking · participle past phone banked · past phone banked · alternative phonebank · alternative phone-bank

1. ambitransitivegovernmentTo engage in a phone bank (“political outreach event that involves making calls to potential voters by phone”).

   Social workers phone banked for the bill from NASW headquarters, and Legislative Alert mailings were sent to hundreds of social workers at each step of the legislative process when calls and letters were critical.

   1988 February 21, Sherry Zitter, “Thank You NASW”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 31, page 4