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
Cane and Harlan react differently to the close call.
—
Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 19 June 2025
The close call and the outage, the latest in a series of failures that have occurred in recent weeks, come just before the summer travel season.
—Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 19 May 2025
After surviving many close calls as a war correspondent, Norland was diagnosed with a lethal brain tumor in 2019.
—Terry Gross, NPR, 27 June 2025
However, that was a close call, and just two participants changing their approach would swing the median forecast down to one cut.
—Jeff Cox, CNBC, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for close call
Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 19 June 2025
The close call and the outage, the latest in a series of failures that have occurred in recent weeks, come just before the summer travel season.
—Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 19 May 2025
After surviving many close calls as a war correspondent, Norland was diagnosed with a lethal brain tumor in 2019.
—Terry Gross, NPR, 27 June 2025
However, that was a close call, and just two participants changing their approach would swing the median forecast down to one cut.
—Jeff Cox, CNBC, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for close call
Recent Examples of Synonyms for close call
close shave
Noun
-
Meant to be used anywhere and everywhere, this delivers a smooth and close shave by reducing friction with allantoin and infusing skin with shea butter, glycerin and squalane for softness and moisture.—
Celia Shatzman,
Forbes.com,
29 June 2025
-
The floating, vibrating head gave me a really close shave, especially with my shaving cream.—
Malia Griggs,
Glamour,
16 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Close call.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/close%20call. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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