CLOSE CALL Synonyms: 7 Similar and Opposite Words

close call

noun

ˈklōs-

Definition of close call next

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

misfire

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of close call Hurley and his staff had been drilling the team on its areas of weakness as the close calls kept coming. —

Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 10 Feb. 2026 While there have been no avalanche deaths recorded in Colorado so far this season, there have been serious accidents and several close calls. —

The Vail Daily, Denver Post, 5 Feb. 2026 The plane involved in Tuesday’s close call is based at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, but NASA keeps many of its aircraft at Ellington Airport. —

David Matthews, Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2026 There have also been numerous close calls over the years, including in recent memory. —

Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 28 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for close call

Recent Examples of Synonyms for close call

close shave

Noun

Mid-Atlantic and Northeast: close shave between a blizzard and a blustery day Farther north into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, forecast confidence drops sharply, with the storm’s eventual track playing a critical role in determining impacts.

— Briana Waxman, CNN Money, 29 Jan. 2026
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