as in narrow escapes
a barely successful escape from something undesirable
the doctor said I'd had a close call, and was lucky to be alive
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Recent Examples of close calls
Recall the close calls in the playoffs, a pair of three-point victories against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the 49ers in the divisional round and NFC title game?
—
Mirjam Swanson The Orange County Register, Arkansas Online, 22 Jan. 2026
North Carolina matters a great deal, because fewer than a dozen Senate seats are in contention at all, and only a handful are close calls; the others are in states that are solidly red or blue.
—Amy Davidson Sorkin, New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2026
After plenty of close calls on the first 11 passing attempts of the game, Stroud finally threw an interception on the Texans’ third drive.
—Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 18 Jan. 2026
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
Ewers had a couple of close calls on passes.
—Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026
Despite some close calls during their face off with Vecna and the Mind Flayer, the rest of the main characters manage to survive as well.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 31 Dec. 2025
Mirjam Swanson The Orange County Register, Arkansas Online, 22 Jan. 2026
North Carolina matters a great deal, because fewer than a dozen Senate seats are in contention at all, and only a handful are close calls; the others are in states that are solidly red or blue.
—Amy Davidson Sorkin, New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2026
After plenty of close calls on the first 11 passing attempts of the game, Stroud finally threw an interception on the Texans’ third drive.
—Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 18 Jan. 2026
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
Ewers had a couple of close calls on passes.
—Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026
Despite some close calls during their face off with Vecna and the Mind Flayer, the rest of the main characters manage to survive as well.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 31 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for close calls
close shaves
Noun
-
The Torreys are accustomed to, pun intended, close shaves.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Close calls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/close%20calls. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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