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

Republicans also turned the assassination attempt into a rallying cry, with many sharing photos of Trump defiantly pumping his fist after the shooting with blood streaked across his face. —Adam Tamburin, Axios, 15 July 2024

That message was echoed by political leaders in both parties as prayers and message of support for Trump provided a rare bipartisan rallying cry. —Zac Anderson, USA TODAY, 15 July 2024

Flav decided to get behind the team after seeing an Instagram post from captain Maggie Steffens, who was making a rallying cry for more people to follow the sport with the Olympics looming. —George Ramsay, CNN, 4 July 2024

By Tuesday, it was getting seized on as something of a semi-ironic rallying cry. —Jason Abbruzzese, NBC News, 3 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1797, in the meaning defined at sense 2