911

American  

[nahyn-wuhn-wuhn, nahyn-i-lev-uhn] / ˈnaɪnˌwʌnˈwʌn, ˈnaɪn ɪˈlɛv ən /

1. (in the United States and Canada) the telephone number used to reach emergency medical, fire, and police services.

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Etymology

Origin of 911

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

911

She called 911 and paramedics rushed to the Moreno Valley home and started CPR, according to court documents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

But Tran wasn’t the only one who called 911 about the crash.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026

She told him to call 911, but he didn’t know how and had refused medical-alert systems.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026

The agency uses a “scientifically based fire-behavior modeling” program to generate a fire-spread prediction when a 911 call for a wildfire is processed, SeLegue said.

From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2026

“I was, but then I thought about that 911 call you didn’t make and...”

From "Time Bomb" by Joelle Charbonneau