recall

American  

[ri-kawl, ri-kawl, ree-kawl, ree-kawl] / rɪˈkɔl, rɪˈkɔl, ˈri kɔl, ˈri kɔl /

verb (used with object)

recalls, present (3rd person singular) recalled, past participle, past recalling present participle

1. to bring back from memory; recollect; remember.

   Can you recall what she said?

   Antonyms:

   forget

2. to call back; summon to return.

   The army recalled many veterans.

3. to bring (one's thoughts, attention, etc.) back to matters previously considered.

   He recalled his mind from pleasant daydreams to the dull task at hand.

4. International Law. to summon back and withdraw the office from (a diplomat).

5. to revoke or withdraw.

   to recall a promise.

   Synonyms:

   annul, repeal, recant, retract, rescind

6. to revive.

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noun

recalls plural

1. an act of recalling.

   Synonyms:

   memory

2. the ability to remember or act of remembering; recollection; remembrance.

   This is the way it has been done for ages beyond recall.

3. Psychology. the act or process of retrieving information previously encoded and stored in memory, without being cued by the targeted information itself.

   Music is often used in education to improve recall of text and factual information.

   In the interview, careful, open questions are essential to encourage and sustain the child's free recall of events.

4. the act or possibility of revoking something.

   Synonyms:

   nullification, recantation, withdrawal, repeal, retraction, revocation

5. the removal or the right of removal of a public official from office by a vote of the people taken upon petition of a specified number of the qualified electors.

6. Also called callback.  a summons by a manufacturer or other agency for the return of goods or a product already shipped to market or sold to consumers but discovered to be defective, contaminated, unsafe, or the like.

7. a signal made by a vessel to recall one of its boats.

8. a signal displayed to direct a racing yacht to sail across the starting line again.

recall British  

/ rɪˈkɔːl /

verb

1. (may take a clause as object) to bring back to mind; recollect; remember

2. to order to return; call back permanently or temporarily

   to recall an ambassador

3. to revoke or take back

4. to cause (one's thoughts, attention, etc) to return from a reverie or digression

5. poetic to restore or revive

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noun

1. the act of recalling or state of being recalled

2. revocation or cancellation

3. the ability to remember things; recollection

4. military (esp formerly) a signal to call back troops, etc, usually a bugle call

   to sound the recall

5. the process by which elected officials may be deprived of office by popular vote

recall Idioms  

1. see beyond recall.

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Usage

What is a basic definition of recall? The verb recall means to remember something. Recall is also used as a verb to mean to request a person to return somewhere. It is used as a noun to refer to an order by a company or manufacturer for a product to be returned for some reason, especially a defect. Recall has several other senses as both a verb and a noun. The word recall is used as a synonym of remember and recollect. In this sense, to recall is to retrieve old information from your memory.

• Real-life example: A friend might ask you what you did over the weekend, and you might take a minute to recall all of the fun things you did. When asked to explain what they were doing on a certain date, a defendant in a trial might say that they do not recall.
• Used in a sentence: I am trying to recall the name of an actor, but I can’t even remember the name of the movie that they’re in!

Recall also means to tell a person to return from somewhere. This sense is often used in the context of a person of authority commanding those under them to return to headquarters or their base.

• Real-life example: You are likely to hear this use of recall in reference to politics or the military. A country may decide to recall its ambassador from a country it is having a disagreement with, for example. Similarly, a country may recall troops from the place they had been dispatched to. A recall election is one in which voters decide whether to recall an elected official from office.
• Used in a sentence: After the negotiations fell through, the country decided to recall its diplomat. 

The word recall is used as a noun to mean a manufacturer requesting that products be returned to them because they are defective, unsafe, or for some other reason. In this context, recall can also be used as a verb meaning to issue such a recall.

• Real-life example: Recalls are common practice, especially by car manufacturers when a part is found to be defective. The car company may send you a letter in the mail to tell you your brakes have a chance of failing. Often, the manufacturer will pay to have the defective part replaced.
• Used in a sentence: The toy company issued a recall for the toy cars because they were found to be a choking hazard.

Synonym Usage

See remember.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• recallable
  adjective
• unrecallable
  adjective
• unrecalled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• recalls
  plural

Participles

• recalling
  present
• recalled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• recall
  simple
• recalls
  simple
• have recalled
  perfect
• has recalled
  perfect
• am recalling
  progressive
• are recalling
  progressive
• is recalling
  progressive
• have been recalling
  perfect progressive
• has been recalling
  perfect progressive

Past

• recalled
  simple
• had recalled
  perfect
• was recalling
  progressive
• were recalling
  progressive
• had been recalling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will recall
  simple
• will have recalled
  perfect
• will be recalling
  progressive
• will have been recalling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of recall

First recorded in 1575–85; re- + call

Explanation

When you recall something, you remember it, like telling your friend, "As I recall, you said you'd buy my lunch the next time we got together." The verb recall means "remember," like an older person who recalls her school days, or "call to mind," like a painter's use of colors and shapes that recall early Pablo Picasso. Recall can also be a noun — you may know someone who has great recall, or memory, of events that everyone else has forgotten. If an automaker issues a recall on your car, this is a request to temporarily "take it back" to fix something. Don't forget about this kind of recall!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

recall recalls recalled recalling

The group continues to face legal proceedings following a recall, initiated in 2021, of its DreamStation sleep apnoea devices, found to stop working intermittently.

From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026

"I recall putting my hand on her waist," he told the court.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

The FDA, however, doubled down on the severity of the investigation, saying in an X post that the false positive doesn’t change “the overwhelming epidemiological data supporting the current voluntary recall by Taylor Farms.”

From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026

JetBlue, you might recall, tried to buy Spirit a couple of years ago, but the deal was struck down by a federal judge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Later Eisman would fail to recall what Wing Chau looked like, what he wore, where he’d come from, or what he ate and drank—everything but the financial idea he represented.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

The U.S. government’s push for a foothold for American drone technology on Everest recalls the history of geopolitical jostling in the Himalayan region during the Cold War.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

Adrian recalls a snafu from the Munich Film Festival, but can’t quite remember the details.

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026

Michigan Chief Medical Executive Natasha Bagdasarian said that no such recalls had been ordered.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Because it was the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, the children gathered inside the prayer hall to recite the Quran, she recalls, before she began teaching her pupils a new letter of the Persian alphabet.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

“With access for the first time to a good diet, he began to grow tall and strong,” recalls Boyd.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Naomi recalled to The Times, over a Zoom call from Paris.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Meanwhile, Spurs attacking midfielder Xavi Simons said "the first four days were the worst days of my life" as he recalled the anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered in April.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

The 43-year-old and her family arrived at the beach at about 11:00, and recalled seeing the victims having a "great time" together.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

A complete list of the recalled items can be found here.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

“The stench was so disgusting that when we returned home from work in the fields, we couldn’t hold down a single bite,” recalled one man.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

But his memory shouldn’t pass without recalling the principles he fought for.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Last week, the company announced it was voluntarily recalling various products including chopped lettuce, shredded lettuce, blends of iceberg, romaine lettuce and salad mixes that were supplied to restaurants and retailers in 27 states.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

The 23-year-old says even that has been difficult for him, recalling how in June his memory chip-focused investments fell by more than 10% in just one day.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

It’s worth recalling that when the ADRs were priced last week, the strike was only a 3% premium to the locals.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

I nod, recalling how her court ladies had clamored over the jewels.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

Related Words

• call up
• cite
• evoke
• remind
• summon
• think of