port of call
Americannoun
noun
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any port where a ship stops, excluding its home port
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any place visited on a traveller's itinerary
Etymology
Origin of port of call
First recorded in 1880–85
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Navy warning vessels trying to run the blockade and exit the Persian Gulf to return to their last port of call.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
That is why addressing nutrient pollution at source is the first point of action in tackling the problem, and why the big contributors – farming and water treatment – are the first port of call.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Its final port of call before reaching Acapulco was Colima.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
On July 4, Leo is scheduled to visit another port of call for migrants entering Europe, the Italian island of Lampedusa, solidifying the plight of migrants as a hallmark of his papacy.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
This was the ship’s final port of call before they crossed the Atlantic.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
