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Definition of curtain call
: an appearance by a performer (as after the final curtain of a play) in response to the applause of the audience
Examples of curtain call in a Sentence
The singer came back for one more curtain call.
Recent Examples on the Web The opening performance there drew five curtain calls.
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Neil Genzlinger, BostonGlobe.com, "Peter Hunt, 81, directed the Broadway hit musical ‘1776’," 1 May 2020 The hug exchanged between Lear and Amos at Wednesday’s curtain call therefore seemed poignant — maybe just a Hollywood hug, maybe something more significant all these years later.
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Hank Stuever, Washington Post, "ABC’s live ‘Good Times’ and ‘All in the Family’ try again to rekindle the magic of yesterday’s sitcoms," 19 Dec. 2019 Just as theater-goers stop in before heading to a show, Broadway stars might duck in after the curtain call to relax and refuel, or maybe even on their nights off.
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Liz Cantrell, Town & Country, "Why Shelly Fireman Is the King of Pre Theater Dining," 15 Oct. 2019 The performances received as many as seven curtain calls.
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Seth Mydans, New York Times, "Overlooked No More: Ni Gusti Ayu Raka Rasmi, Balinese Dancer," 13 Mar. 2020 Once on This Island’ take their curtain call during the Broadway opening night on Dec. 3 in New York.
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Charles Passy, WSJ, "New Investment Funds Set the Stage for Broadway Shows," 19 July 2018 No Time to Die Originally scheduled to hit theatres in April, the release date for Daniel Craig's curtain call as the storied super spy has now been pushed back to November.
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Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, "All The Hollywood Films Being Affected By The Coronavirus," 11 Mar. 2020 The energy extends through a long joyous, carefully choreographed full-cast curtain call.
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Christopher Arnott, courant.com, "Review: Two Billys, one beautiful, gritty ‘Billy Elliot’ at the Goodspeed," 7 Oct. 2019 Any mental and physical spending are compensated by the reaction from the audience—especially during curtain call when the audience are giving standing ovations.
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Rachel King, Fortune, "Behind the scenes in the career of a prima ballerina," 22 Feb. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'curtain call.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for curtain call
The first known use of curtain call was in 1884
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