close call

noun

ˈklōs- How to pronounce close call (audio)
Synonyms of close callnext
: a narrow escape

Synonyms of close call

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of close call in a Sentence

We nearly didn't get out of the burning building. It was a pretty close call, let me tell you! the doctor said I'd had a close call, and was lucky to be alive
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Brandon Hurd had a close call navigating Saturday through the Townsends Inlet Bridge. — Joe Holden, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026 Polls show a close call, but Prop 40 has already caused some of California’s wealthy to flee the state. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2026 The codename has shown up in Valve engine code since at least 2024, but it has never been referenced in public by a Valve employee until now (though Morasky was responsible for a close call in an interview last year). — Kyle Orland, ArsTechnica, 23 Oct. 2026 Allen played Toby Cavanaugh on Pretty Little Liars, who, despite multiple close calls, survived the entire series. — Isabella Albaig, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for close call

Word History

First Known Use

1861, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of close call was in 1861

Rhymes for close call

See All Rhymes for close call

Browse Nearby Words

close by (someone or something)
close call
close chair
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Close call.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/close%20call. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

close call

noun
: a narrow escape
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All