close call

American  

[klohs] / kloʊs /

noun

1. a narrow escape from danger or trouble.

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close call British  

/ kləʊs /

noun

1. another expression for close shave

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close call Idioms  

1. Also, close shave. Narrow escape, near miss. For example, That skier just missed the tree—what a close call, or That was a close shave, nearly leaving your passport behind. The first phrase dates from the late 1800s and comes from sports, alluding to an official's decision (call) that could have gone either way. The second, from the early 1800s, alludes to the narrow margin between closely shaved skin and a razor cut. (This latter usage replaced the much earlier equation of a close shave with miserliness, based on the idea that a close shave by a barber meant one would not have to spend money on another shave quite so soon.) Also see too close for comfort.

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Etymology

Origin of close call

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

close call

She also had a close call with the sunk cost fallacy: the failure to disengage from a probably doomed pursuit because of the time already invested in it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

A few months after that turbulent April flight to Denver, Booker once again found herself bagless during another close call.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Others in the densely populated neighbourhood described a close call.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Investors and economists acknowledge the Fed vote was a close call, and that a case could have been made either way to raise rates or leave them unchanged.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026

Night was falling quickly, but no one wanted to risk another close call like the one they’d had that morning.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

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Related Words

• cliffhanger

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