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
Except for a few close calls while flying across the country and near-misses upon landing, our aviation infrastructure is just fine!
—
Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 13 Feb. 2025
On April 18, there was a close call between Southwest Flight 2937 to Orlando and JetBlue Flight 1554 to Boston.
—Olivia Rinaldi, CBS News, 6 Feb. 2025
In 2023, the agency created a safety review team following a string of close calls at U.S. airports, and has aimed to remove or shut down intersecting runways in cities like Chicago and Dallas because of concerns about ground congestion.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025
The two close calls came within a week of Wednesday's horrifying collision, in which an inbound commercial flight from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a military helicopter over the Potomac River.
—Chris Pandolfo, Fox News, 31 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for close call
Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 13 Feb. 2025
On April 18, there was a close call between Southwest Flight 2937 to Orlando and JetBlue Flight 1554 to Boston.
—Olivia Rinaldi, CBS News, 6 Feb. 2025
In 2023, the agency created a safety review team following a string of close calls at U.S. airports, and has aimed to remove or shut down intersecting runways in cities like Chicago and Dallas because of concerns about ground congestion.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025
The two close calls came within a week of Wednesday's horrifying collision, in which an inbound commercial flight from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a military helicopter over the Potomac River.
—Chris Pandolfo, Fox News, 31 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for close call
Cite this Entry
“Close call.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/close%20call. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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