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

Even before a less-than-successful promotional push for “American Girl” led Day to make a distress call to her manager, “we both knew the conversation was coming,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

According to the Indian Navy, a distress call from the Iranian warship was picked up by Colombo in the early hours of 4 March, triggering a regional search-and-rescue effort.

From BBC • Mar. 6, 2026

In the latest such tragedy, a boat loaded with more than 200 people made a distress call overnight December 31 to January 1 near the North Bank region.

From Barron's • Jan. 5, 2026

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

S O S in the International Morse Code is the universal distress call adopted by the common consent of our civilized nations at the wireless convention held at Berlin in 1906.

From Walter and the Wireless by Stecher, William F. (William Frederick)