toll-free
4 synonyms and 4 antonyms for toll-free, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Adjective — Of a telephone number, free to call, with the cost paid by the person or business being called rather than the caller.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. adjective
Of a telephone number, free to call, with the cost paid by the person or business being called rather than the caller.
“Customers can reach support on a toll-free number.”
Opposites
2. adjective
Of a road, bridge or tunnel, carrying no toll charge for use.
“The eastern crossing is toll-free after ten at night.”
Opposites
How to use toll-free
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
Chiefly American English; British and Irish writing prefers "freephone". Hyphenated in both adjective and adverb use.
Etymology
From toll + -free. Compare Saterland Frisian tolfräi (“toll-free”), West Frisian tolfrij (“toll-free”), Dutch tolvrij (“toll-free”), German zollfrei (“toll-free”), Swedish tullfri (“toll-free”), Norwegian tollfri (“toll-free”).
Full origin of toll-free →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between toll-free and freephone?
None in meaning — they are the American and British names for the same thing. Toll-free numbers in North America begin 800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877 or 888; UK freephone numbers begin 0800 or 0808.
Are toll-free numbers really free?
They are free from landlines, and now free from UK and US mobiles as well. The costs that catch people out are calling one from abroad, which is usually not covered and sometimes blocked entirely, and calling from a hotel phone that adds its own surcharge.