outcall

English

Noun

outcall (plural outcalls)

1. A visit by a provider of some service, such as a massage therapist or a prostitute, to a client.

   Antonym: incall

   • 2014, Stephen McEvoy, Becoming a Professional Massage Therapist: Getting to Your Destination, Stephen A. McEvoy, →ISBN, page 33:

     Some massage therapists only provide incall services because of the travel and setup times required for outcalls. A few massage therapists only provide outcalls because they do not have an office. When setting your rates, […]

   • 2018, Kathy Gruver, Journey of Healing: One woman's path to healing self and others, Lotus Press, →ISBN, page 18:

     I know this sounds stupid, but have a massage table. And enough sheets and oil. I had someone apply for an outcall therapist position that I was trying to fill and halfway through the phone call they informed that they didn't have a car...or a table.

2. (rare, possibly nonstandard) An outgoing telephone call.

   Antonym: incall

   • 1909, Canada. Parliament. House of Commons, Debates: Official Report:

     They charge for business telephones $25 and 2 cents per outcall. Let us see what that means. I do not suppose that any man who uses a telephone in his business makes less than five calls a day; that is 10 cents a day or $30 a year.

   • 1990, California. Legislature. Joint Committee on Prison Construction and Operations, Anatomy of a Prison--Folsom: Examination of Selected Operational, Policy, and Fiscal Questions Affecting California's Prisons Today, page A-8:

     "Does the state (or the prison) get stuck with any telephone calls which somehow do not get billed collect?" Folsom: According to Pacific Bell, […] located within the institution. This coding is designated through the outcall phone numbers.

Alternative forms

• out-call

Verb

outcall (third-person singular simple present outcalls, present participle outcalling, simple past and past participle outcalled)

1. (transitive) To surpass in calling.
   • 1894, The Zoologist, page 307:

     I […] saw as usual great numbers of Cuckoos […] most of them calling vociferously, each apparently trying to outcall the other.

   • 2009, Steve Hickoff, Turkey Calls & Calling:

     Trying to outcall the other hunter could work, but it creates a competitive and possibly dangerous situation.

Anagrams

• Cotulla, call out, call-out, callout