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

This phrase has become a rallying cry for activists who say that undocumented migrants and other foreigners in South Africa have taken away jobs from those who were born there. — Rebecca Schneid, Time, 1 July 2026

It’s turned into a rallying cry for the underdogs. — Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 19 June 2026

In his speech, Obama closed with a rallying cry. — Susan Page, USA Today, 18 June 2026

It is widely accepted that a teaspoon of productive soil generally contains between 100 million and one billion bacteria, thus the name and rallying cry of the Forum. — Louise Schiavone, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1797, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for rallying cry

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