call it a day

Idioms  

1. Stop a particular activity for the rest of the day, as in It's past five o'clock so let's call it a day. Similarly, call it a night means “to stop something for the rest of the night,” as in One more hand of bridge and then let's call it a night. The original phrase was call it half a day, first recorded in 1838, which referred to leaving one's place of employment before the work day was over. The first recorded use of call it a day was in 1919, and of call it a night in 1938. Also see call it quits.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

call it a day

"I don't think when I was 30 I thought I'd still be here 11 years later," she said, asked when she might call it a day.

From Barron's ● May 29, 2026

Investors used to be able to diversify by buying a single fund like the iShares Emerging Markets ETF and call it a day.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

The band, in the middle of an exhausting six-month tour, decided to call it a day.

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2025

"He'd become less committed in my opinion and at that point it was time to shake hands and call it a day," said Kleanthous.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2025

Although he was ready to call it a day after so much excitement and emotion, it suddenly occurred to Duane that he never saw the finished painting.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

Related Words

• achieve
• break up
• cease
• close
• complete
• conclude
• culminate
• delay
• drop
• expire
• finish
• give up
• halt
• play out
• quit
• resolve
• settle
• stop
• terminate
• wind up