distress call

American  

noun

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

2. a communication prompted by or indicating distress.

   The hospital sent out distress calls for all available stocks of the antitoxin.

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Etymology

Origin of distress call

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

The boat, loaded with more than 200 people, made a distress call overnight Wednesday to Thursday near the North Bank region.

From Barron's • Jan. 2, 2026

William Carlos Williams, “Anna Karenina,” Katherine Anne Porter, “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Cats,” Foghorn Leghorn: all get shoutouts here, a collective distress call that fails to move us.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 22, 2025

In Ridley Scott’s 1979 film “Alien,” the crew of the Nostromo rouses from slumber to answer a distress call that spells their doom.

From Salon • Jul. 17, 2025

Mr Inman added that air traffic control attempted to contact the pilot several times but received no response or distress call.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2025

After the incident had been closed, I gave the men a brief lecture on the language of bears, and the necessity of being able to recognize the distress call.

From The Minds and Manners of Wild Animals A Book of Personal Observations by Hornaday, William Temple