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
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Recent Examples of close call
Grissom had a close call with death even then.
—
Orlando Sentinel Staff, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Jan. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for close call
Orlando Sentinel Staff, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Jan. 2026
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
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
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The Torreys are accustomed to, pun intended, close shaves.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Close call.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/close%20call. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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