recall

[verb ri-kawl; noun ri-kawl, ree-kawl for 7–9, 12, 13; ree-kawl for 10, 11]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR recall ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to bring back from memory; recollect; remember: Can you recall what she said?

to call back; summon to return: The army recalled many veterans.

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.

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

to revoke or withdraw: to recall a promise.

to revive.

noun

an act of recalling.

recollection; remembrance.

the act or possibility of revoking something.

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.

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.

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

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

Origin of recall

First recorded in 1575–85; re- + call

Related formsre·call·a·ble, adjectiveun·re·call·a·ble, adjectiveun·re·called, adjective

Synonyms for recall

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR recall ON THESAURUS.COM

1. See remember. 5. rescind, retract, recant, repeal; annul. 7. memory. 9. revocation, retraction, repeal, withdrawal, recantation; nullification.

Antonyms for recall

1. forget.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for recall

cancellation, withdrawal, summon, remind, evoke, cite, suspend, cancel, dismiss, withdraw, recollection, reminiscence, memory, anamnesis, revocation, annulment, rescission, repeal, nullification, retraction

Examples from the Web for recall

Contemporary Examples of recall

Recall how Clinton returned to Arkansas from the campaign trail to preside over the execution of a mentally disabled man.
President Cuomo Would’ve Been a Lion
Jonathan Alter
January 2, 2015
That action ignited protests that rocked Wisconsin and spurred a recall—only the second recall of a governor in U.S. history.
The Next Phase of the Koch Brothers’ War on Unions
Carl Deal and Tia Lessin
December 22, 2014
I do not recall what sort of aeroplane Mr. Hughes had at the time; however, it was quite comfortable, as I recall.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014
He liked to recall his films from the '20s and '30s, in which he put distinguished West End actors on the screen.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014
It took, as I recall, almost two days to fly from New York to Los Angeles.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014

Historical Examples of recall

He tried to recall some forgotten detail of the business that might serve to occupy him.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
I cannot recall the precise amount, but it was not so much as what you call one dollar.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
He sat down on the anvil with his heart beating, and began to recall the picture.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
I longed to be by myself that I might recall Ned's every look and word.
The Bacillus of Beauty
Harriet Stark
Humour he had in plenty; one has only to recall Acis and Galatea.
Handel
Edward J. Dent

British Dictionary definitions for recall

recall

verb (tr)

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

to order to return; call back permanently or temporarilyto recall an ambassador

to revoke or take back

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

poetic to restore or revive

noun

the act of recalling or state of being recalled

revocation or cancellation

the ability to remember things; recollection

military (esp formerly) a signal to call back troops, etc, usually a bugle callto sound the recall

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

Derived Formsrecallable, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for recall

1580s, "to bring back by calling upon," from re- "back, again" + call (v.); in some cases a loan-translation of Middle French rappeler (see repeal (v.)) or Latin revocare (see revoke). Sense of "bring back to memory" is from 1610s. Related: Recalled; recalling.

1650s, "act of recalling to mind," from recall (v.). In U.S. politics, "removal of an elected official," 1902.

recall in Medicine

recall

[rĭ-kôl′]

v.

To remember; recollect.

n.

The ability to remember information or experiences.

Idioms and Phrases with recall

recall

see beyond recall.