roll call

American  

noun

1. the calling of a list of names, as of soldiers or students, for checking attendance.

2. a military signal for this, as one given by a drum.

3. a voting process, especially in the U.S. Congress, in which legislators are called on by name and allowed either to cast their vote or to abstain.

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roll call British  

noun

1. the reading aloud of an official list of names, those present responding when their names are read out

2. the time or signal for such a reading

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Etymology

Origin of roll call

First recorded in 1765–75

Example Sentences

Publisher of Roll-Call is Carl Losey, but his name did not appear on the masthead.

From Time Magazine Archive

Nevertheless, in Noblesville last week there appeared the first issue of a mysterious "national weekly," Roll-Call, with a Washington, D. C. dateline, an Indianapolis address, and no mention of Noblesville at all.

From Time Magazine Archive

But let it be a Roll-Call to Service—a joining of the church as of the Red Cross for the love of mankind.

From A Statement: On the Future of This Church by Holmes, John Haynes

When the Academy banquet was held, prior to the opening, the speeches of the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge, both gave high praise to the "Roll-Call."

From Lives of Girls Who Became Famous by Bolton, Sarah Knowles

The vast and awful Roll-Call of the things I ought to be—the things I ought to love—in the great world voice sweeps over me.

From The Lost Art of Reading by Lee, Gerald Stanley