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
Practice confident body language and presence; Fortune has highlighted the power of a genuine smile and positive nonverbal signals to differentiate in close calls.
—
Ashley Lutz, Fortune, 22 Sep. 2025
But when a beloved bookstore — especially one that’s had some close calls over the years — turns 70, nothing short of a block party will do.
—Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2025
With multiple overtime games, upsets and close calls, Week 2 provided a lot of reasons to shake up this week’s edition of The Athletic 136, just not at the top.
—Chris Vannini, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
Then again, close calls against FCS teams – and Northern Colorado isn’t a particularly good FCS team – tend to look even worse in hindsight.
—Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Sep. 2025
The one-run loss was the Dodgers’ 13th in their past 19 close calls.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 7 Sep. 2025
Honeywell started developing the SURF-A system in 2020 when the aviation industry noticed more close calls happening on runways.
—Asher Redd, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2025
The preliminary report does not assign blame or determine the cause of the close calls, details which will be included in a final report, which often takes a year to complete.
—Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2025
Tommy Fleetwood has yet to win on the PGA Tour in his career, despite several close calls.
—Bennett Conlin, Baltimore Sun, 15 Aug. 2025
Ashley Lutz, Fortune, 22 Sep. 2025
But when a beloved bookstore — especially one that’s had some close calls over the years — turns 70, nothing short of a block party will do.
—Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2025
With multiple overtime games, upsets and close calls, Week 2 provided a lot of reasons to shake up this week’s edition of The Athletic 136, just not at the top.
—Chris Vannini, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
Then again, close calls against FCS teams – and Northern Colorado isn’t a particularly good FCS team – tend to look even worse in hindsight.
—Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Sep. 2025
The one-run loss was the Dodgers’ 13th in their past 19 close calls.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 7 Sep. 2025
Honeywell started developing the SURF-A system in 2020 when the aviation industry noticed more close calls happening on runways.
—Asher Redd, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2025
The preliminary report does not assign blame or determine the cause of the close calls, details which will be included in a final report, which often takes a year to complete.
—Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2025
Tommy Fleetwood has yet to win on the PGA Tour in his career, despite several close calls.
—Bennett Conlin, Baltimore Sun, 15 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Close calls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/close%20calls. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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