rallying cry

noun

plural rallying cries

1

: a shouted word, phrase, or sound used by a body of fighters before or in battle : battle cry, war cry

… the innocent ejaculation hurrah! became a fearsome rallying cry in Napoleonic times.

—Geoffrey Hughes

2

: something (such as a catchphrase, incident, or event) that is used to excite people to support a cause or to rouse people to action

Lions captain Sam Warburton issued a rallying cry to his team yesterday … by urging them to "reach for the stars".

—Mick Cleary

Ultimately, just 6 per cent of people would tell businesses to "keep doing what you're doing". If these findings do not act as a rallying cry for change, it is unclear what will.

—Frank Luntz

Both campaigns have seized on the attempt to ban that book in schools as a rallying cry.

—Edward Keenan

The much-despised gabelle, a tax first imposed on salt in France in the 13th century and at times soaring to 10 times the cost of producing salt in the first place, became a rallying cry for the French Revolution …

—Ligaya Mishan

Examples of rallying cry in a Sentence

the rallying cry of a political movement

“We believe!” became the rallying cry of the fans.

Recent Examples on the Web

When positioned as a performance-contingent incentive, the four-day workweek becomes a rallying cry to refocus our time and energy at work on the things that really matter to the business. —Joe O’Connor, Time, 13 Jan. 2026

Analysts warn that its ties with Israel could become a rallying cry for Islamic extremists, destabilizing an already volatile region in which Somaliland has prided itself as an oasis of relative calm. —Sam Metz, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2026

Any pithy comment could be turned into a rallying cry or rocket fuel. —Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 13 Jan. 2026

Disenchantment with the future – and an accompanying unwillingness to have kids – have at points become a rallying cry for people in China, in particular during the pandemic when the government mobilized stringent measures to stop the spread of the virus. —Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 1 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1797, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for rallying cry

• abscissae
• alibi
• alkali
• alumni
• amoebae
• amplify
• annuli
• beautify
• brachii
• butterfly
• calculi
• certify