How to Use close call in a Sentence

close call

noun
  • We nearly didn't get out of the burning building. It was a pretty close call, let me tell you!
  • There have been some close calls along the way.
    — Joseph Duarte, Houston Chronicle, 24 Mar. 2026
  • The last three years have been full of close calls.
    — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Dec. 2025
  • And one pro surfer's very close call with a great white shark.
    — NBC News, 8 Oct. 2020
  • Grissom had a close call with death even then.
    — Orlando Sentinel Staff, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Jan. 2026
  • This followed decades of close calls.
    — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 6 Nov. 2025
  • The close call at first was not reviewed.
    — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 1 June 2026
  • Of course, close calls are far more common.
    — Katie Jackson, Outside, 19 Mar. 2026
  • There’s gunplay, a few close calls, some hot stunts, blah, blah, blah.
    — Miami Staff, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024
  • And on close calls, you are obliged to choose the course that does not do any good for you.
    — Chris Stirewalt, Fox News, 18 Apr. 2018
  • But there were no fights and there were no crashes, even if there were close calls.
    — Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2019
  • On and on the close calls went before Wingels broke the curse.
    — Paul Skrbina, chicagotribune.com, 10 Dec. 2017
  • Even that victory was a close call.
    — Gautam Mukunda, Mercury News, 20 June 2026
  • Honestly, this is not a close call.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 24 Apr. 2026
  • These are close calls that do not always show up in crash reports.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 15 June 2026
  • The streak didn’t survive without close calls.
    — Jalon Dixon, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2025
  • Is there anything that didn't make it into the episode that was a close call?
    — Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Oct. 2017
  • Their hope now is that this close call can lead to change and awareness of the crossings.
    — Jessica Riley, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
  • The real problem here is this is not a close call based on antitrust.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 24 Apr. 2026
  • Ewers had a couple of close calls on passes.
    — Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026
  • Only then did Appling go back and look at the footage of the close call.
    — oregonlive, 29 Dec. 2021
  • But now Hunter-Reay has taken the sting out of many of the close calls.
    — Jim Ayello, Indianapolis Star, 3 June 2018
  • However, in the prime of their careers, this wouldn't even be a close call.
    — Matt Levine, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 June 2025
  • Ryall noted that among this year’s choices there were a number of close calls.
    — Eric E. Harrison, Arkansas Online, 29 Sep. 2025
  • There have been close calls in one-versus-16 games before, but this shouldn't be one of them.
    — Patrick Brennan, Cincinnati.com, 15 Mar. 2018
  • Their house remained standing after both close calls.
    — Vanessa Romo, NPR, 27 Apr. 2026
  • The one-run loss was the Dodgers’ 13th in their past 19 close calls.
    — Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Customers weighed in on the frightening close call.
    — Carolyn Gusoff, CBS News, 19 June 2026
  • Tyler Freel had a close call on a horseback hunt in Idaho.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 17 Dec. 2025
  • Thursday’s drone crash, which punched a hole in the plane’s left wing, was a close call, Sweeney said.
    — Alexandra Byrne, NBC News, 15 Jan. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'close call.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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