wangiri

W4A1N1G2I1R1I1

noun

A type of phone call scam in which the caller dials a random number and immediately hangs up in the hopes that the recipient will call back.

Scrabble 11
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Meanings

noun
  1. A type of phone call scam in which the caller dials a random number and immediately hangs up in the hopes that the recipient will call back.

Origin

Borrowed from Japanese ワン切(ぎ)り (wangiri).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

wangiri. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wangiri

MLA

“wangiri.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wangiri. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wangiri,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wangiri.

Source: wangiri on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.