distress call

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noun

a prearranged communication code sign indicating that the sender is in a situation of peril, distress, or the like, as SOS, Mayday, etc.Compare distress signal (def. 1).

a communication prompted by or indicating distress: The hospital sent out distress calls for all available stocks of the antitoxin.

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Origin of distress call

First recorded in 1910–15

Words nearby distress call

distraint, distrait, distraite, distraught, distress, distress call, distressed, distressed area, distress flag, distress frequency, distressful

How to use distress call in a sentence

Hospitals in the states of Haryana, Maharashtra and Gujarat have been issuing distress calls for urgent supplies of oxygen.
'This Is Hell.' Prime Minister Modi's Failure to Lead Is Deepening India's COVID-19 Crisis|Rana Ayyub|April 23, 2021|Time
Note: UNICOR uses its inmates for everything from call center operators to human demolishers of old computers.
How a ‘Real Housewife’ Survives Prison: ‘I Don’t See [Teresa Giudice] Having a Cakewalk Here’|Michael Howard|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This is the Mexico that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and most major U.S. corporations, are eager to call amigo.
Why Mexicans Are Enraged by Obama’s Big Tuesday Meeting|Ruben Navarrette Jr.|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Al Qaeda has never managed to carve out a large chunk of real estate to call its own—in Afghanistan it was a guest of the Taliban.
ISIS’s Futile Quest to Go Legit|Jamie Dettmer|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Who else would see a former spouse accused of underage sex and call him ‘the greatest man there is’?
Fergie Dives Into Prince Andrew’s Sex Scandal|Tom Sykes|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Almost everyone I spoke to said they have used JSwipe because they are specifically not just looking for a booty call.
My Week on Jewish Tinder|Emily Shire|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Everything is topsy-turvy in Europe according to our moral ideas, and they don't have what we call "men" over here.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
It was like his beautiful courtesy to call me in and introduce me to Blow instead of letting me go away.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
After an hour, however, he reached this decision: He would not go to or call up Mrs. Merley.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
"I call you," the policeman said, and stripping the saddle and bridle from his sweaty horse, turned him loose to graze.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
The look of distress had vanished, and his sincere eyes seemed to shine again with courage and with strength.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens