CLOSE CALL Synonyms: 7 Similar and Opposite Words

close call

noun

ˈklōs-

Definition of close call next

as in narrow escape

a barely successful escape from something undesirable the doctor said I'd had a close call, and was lucky to be alive

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

misfire

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of close call Hubble has, however, faced several close calls in recent years, as the observatory’s hardware ages in the harsh environment of space. —

Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 13 Jan. 2026 Lead changes and close calls The late-game action was unprecedented. —

Jayna Bardahl, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026 While there have been close calls in the past—in 2003, then-NBA commissioner David Stern threatened to cancel the W’s season during a labor dispute—the W hasn’t lost games to a work stoppage in its 30-year history. —

Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 9 Jan. 2026 She nearly got booted during the first roundtable vote, a close call that seemed to leave her shaken. —

Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 9 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for close call

Recent Examples of Synonyms for close call

close shave

Noun

Last week, for example, a satellite recently deployed by a Chinese rocket gave a Starlink spacecraft a close shave, apparently without providing the proper warning ahead of time.

— Mike Wall, Space.com, 18 Dec. 2025
The Torreys are accustomed to, pun intended, close shaves.

— Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Nov. 2025