call of nature

noun

Informal.

1. a need to urinate or defecate.

Word History and Origins

Origin of call of nature¹

First recorded in 1850–55

Idioms and Phrases

Need to urinate or defecate, as in He left to answer the call of nature. This euphemism may be dying out. [Mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

These horses occasionally answered the call of nature, creating a bacteria-filled environment that required the athletic trainer to keep a supply of tetanus shots on hand, to be administered when players’ wounds broke the skin.

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Then Abdullah said he had to deal with a call of nature, and moved, Moaaz says, about 30 metres away.

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By suppressing the call of nature while you’re losing fluid through sweat, the body is trying to maintain that delicate water-to-salt ratio and keep everything working the way it should, she explained.

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One big cause of unofficial trails is people looking to respond to “the call of nature” in the woods because of insufficient portable toilets and inadequate signs pointing to existing facilities.

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When he could no longer resist the call of nature, Hunt reached for a half-empty bottle of Johnnie Walker Red.

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