Meanings
nounphone-in (plural phone-ins)
plural phone-ins
- A protest in which a large number of calls are made to the target.
In another demonstration against the broadcast, members of GLAAD participated in a weeklong phone-in protest to the local PBS affiliate and were told a rebroadcast of the film scheduled for March 29 had been canceled.
1986 April 5, Bruce Michael Gelbert, “PBS Runs Anti-Black, Anti-Gay AIDS Show”, in Gay Community News, page 3
Origin
Deverbal from phone in.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 叩應節目 /叩应节目, 電話參與節目 /电话参与节目
- 叩應節目 /叩应节目 (kòuyìng jiémù)show
- 電話參與節目 /电话参与节目 (diànhuà cānyù jiémù)show
- 電話抗議 /电话抗议 (diànhuà kàngyì)protest
- 電話轟炸 /电话轰炸 (diànhuà hōngzhà)protest
Finnish keskusteluohjelma, mielenosoitus puhelinsoitoilla
- keskusteluohjelmashow
- mielenosoitus puhelinsoitoillaprotest
Polish protest telefoniczny
- protest telefonicznyprotest
Cite this entry
APA
phone-in. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phone-in
MLA
“phone-in.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phone-in. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “phone-in,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phone-in.
Source: phone-in on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.