rallying cry

noun

plural rallying cries

1

: a shouted word, phrase, or sound used by a body of fighters before or in battle : battle cry, war cry

… the innocent ejaculation hurrah! became a fearsome rallying cry in Napoleonic times.

—Geoffrey Hughes

2

: something (such as a catchphrase, incident, or event) that is used to excite people to support a cause or to rouse people to action

Lions captain Sam Warburton issued a rallying cry to his team yesterday … by urging them to "reach for the stars".

—Mick Cleary

Ultimately, just 6 per cent of people would tell businesses to "keep doing what you're doing". If these findings do not act as a rallying cry for change, it is unclear what will.

—Frank Luntz

Both campaigns have seized on the attempt to ban that book in schools as a rallying cry.

—Edward Keenan

The much-despised gabelle, a tax first imposed on salt in France in the 13th century and at times soaring to 10 times the cost of producing salt in the first place, became a rallying cry for the French Revolution …

—Ligaya Mishan

Examples of rallying cry in a Sentence

the rallying cry of a political movement

“We believe!” became the rallying cry of the fans.

Recent Examples on the Web

The family’s capture became a rallying cry both for those who supported a deal to end the war and to release the hostages, and for those who believed that Israel should continue fighting until Hamas is destroyed. —Natasha Frost, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025

But no one seems to embrace the nobody-believes-in-us rallying cry quite like football teams and their fans. —Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2025

Some journalists who have decided to go it their own are making criticism of corporate media in the age of Trump a rallying cry. —Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill, 19 Jan. 2025

The term is a popular rallying cry for those who want companies and third-level institutions to stop doing business with the state of Israel. —Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 8 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1797, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for rallying cry

• abscissae
• alibi
• alkali
• alumni
• amoebae
• amplify
• annuli
• beautify
• brachii
• butterfly
• calculi
• certify