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

Smith, as you might expect, was confused by this line of questioning, stammering that he didn’t recall attending any Hawks games.

From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2026

"As I recall, Larry Mullen took a hose to the fans," laughs Bono.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

Voters will also face questions about environmental policy, housing, recall elections and other matters, as well as statewide, congressional and local elections.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

I recall my family, along with tens of millions of other households, took delight in his purposely awful Dad Dancing.

From Salon ● Apr. 27, 2018

For the first time anyone could recall, the wolf leader looked weak.

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

"My own editors wouldn't let me publish a scoop based on a single anonymous source, and here you are telling me I'm a spy," he recalls in his book.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

"I was traveling home by train," recalls Passaleva, "and all of a sudden I was rushing against time to commandeer one of the largest telescopes in the world from my laptop."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

“The whole time she was, ‘Mija, this is good,’ ” Navarrette recalls.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

“It’s not a person, it’s a chatbot,” Mileva recalls her daughter saying.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

He recalls that Volpe offered a note of caution, or perhaps even a mild reproach.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

When Solomon joined Goldman in 1999, he said to Waldron: “I think you’d like coming here,” Waldron recalled on the Exchanges podcast.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

Manjunath, who uses one name, recalled its glory days, when the shop he runs opposite was packed with customers buying snacks before and after shows.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

She explained that time capsules were popular in the 1980s because of the influence of Blue Peter, and recalled writing the letter after her dad found a cavity behind the stairs.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

She also recalled a conversation with open-fire chef Francis Mallmann, who described fire as feminine.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026

I recalled how Ma had styled my hair in that faux bob, how the air had grazed my neck.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

But the chef is most worried about water shortages, recalling a severe drought in 2024.

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

But honor the dead as well by recalling the horror of that day and resolving to do what is needed so it doesn’t happen again.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

One dreamed of recalling the next mayor, be it Bass or Raman.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

In recalling these roots musicians, who kept the tunes alive, Mr. Wade performs a vital service.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

Florida was thinking about being caught under the boat, and Sairy was recalling the red-tailed dinosaur.

From "Ruby Holler" by Sharon Creech

Related Words

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