How to Use close call in a Sentence

close call

noun
  • We nearly didn't get out of the burning building. It was a pretty close call, let me tell you!
  • But putting it in the No. 1 slot for the year isn’t a close call.
    Pete Wells, New York Times, 10 Dec. 2019
  • And one pro surfer's very close call with a great white shark.
    NBC News, 8 Oct. 2020
  • Only then did Appling go back and look at the footage of the close call.
    oregonlive, 29 Dec. 2021
  • Second place was a close call at No. 34, but Mack gets the nod over Michaels.
    Scott Patsko, cleveland, 9 June 2020
  • There had been so many close calls, so many times when Hugo and Jamie thought, This could be the day.
    David Wolman, Outside Online, 6 Jan. 2020
  • That was going to be the Bulldogs’ one close call, right?
    Mike Finger, San Antonio Express-News, 17 Apr. 2021
  • The Tigers had a close call at Florida State but left with a 34-28 win.
    Tim Bielik, cleveland, 22 Oct. 2022
  • But if there's a close call, restraint is the better course.
    Jeffrey Toobin, CNN, 16 Aug. 2021
  • After the close call, the man released the turtle back into the wild.
    Simone Jasper, Miami Herald, 2 July 2024
  • The Rangers’ 3-1 lead stood until the ninth, when the Dodgers fell just short of a last-gasp comeback on Pages’ close call at the plate.
    Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2024
  • There’s gunplay, a few close calls, some hot stunts, blah, blah, blah.
    Miami Staff, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024
  • Mack had his first close calls in the air during the European leg.
    Paul Glenshaw, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 July 2024
  • The 49ers are the top seed in the NFC but survived a pair of close calls in their playoff victories.
    Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 29 Jan. 2024
  • The Austin, Texas, airport was the site of an extremely close call last month.
    Tori Latham, Robb Report, 10 Oct. 2023
  • There was the close call caused by the fatigued controller, which occurred in April.
    Sydney Ember, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2023
  • The fact that the process was supported by 76 votes suggests the final vote will be a close call.
    Matthew Bristow, Bloomberg.com, 28 Mar. 2022
  • For a year, that ring stayed on my finger despite some close calls.
    The Editors, Field & Stream, 18 May 2020
  • The incident was one of two close calls at Logan in just one week.
    Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 24 Aug. 2023
  • But the close call cost Ford much of the aura of his incumbency.
    Ron Elving, NPR, 3 Mar. 2024
  • Some of those close calls (the train episode!) and slow-building conflicts were almost too hard to take.
    Hank Stuever, Washington Post, 28 Dec. 2019
  • Around fifteen years ago, an old college friend of mine had a close call in the mountains.
    Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2024
  • The recording was taped over when the crew took off for London shortly after the close call.
    David Koenig, ajc, 11 Feb. 2023
  • The midway pick: Donovan, in a very close call over Jenkins.
    oregonlive, 11 Jan. 2022
  • Then came a 39-vote close call against Adriatico's in the final four.
    Rasputin Todd, The Enquirer, 5 Sep. 2024
  • But after his close call, Millermon is thankful just to be around to help pick up the pieces.
    al, 27 May 2021
  • Analysts say that the result may be a close call for the long-term leader.
    Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN, 27 Jan. 2023
  • All of us in the helicopter, we're quite shaken up by the close call, but there was nothing to be said.
    Michael Y. Park, Peoplemag, 12 Aug. 2022
  • More than a decade later, Nicholas Irving stills can’t shake his close call with death.
    Fox News, 20 Feb. 2021
  • Historical markers across the country trace the gang's famous heists and close calls with the law.
    Nate Rau, Axios, 26 Sep. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'close call.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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