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.
The rerouting around Africa adds time and cost, as the trip is 10 to 15 days longer than through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, depending on the final port of call in Europe.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 13, 2026
I’ve returned to reaching out to humans for professional advice, instead of making AI my first port of call.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 2, 2025
Located just 145 kilometres off the coast of Tunisia, Lampedusa is often the first port of call for migrants from Africa trying to reach Europe in fragile or overcrowded boats.
From Barron's • Oct. 21, 2025
The first port of call is Santa Cruz de Tenerife and as the Avontuur approaches, the crew can hear the distant drums of the city's enormous carnival.
From BBC • Sep. 20, 2025
Navy never realized that the Indianapolis was overdue at its next port of call and never sent a rescue party to the disaster site.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
