roll call

American  

noun

1. the calling of a list of names, as of soldiers or students, for checking attendance.

2. a military signal for this, as one given by a drum.

3. a voting process, especially in the U.S. Congress, in which legislators are called on by name and allowed either to cast their vote or to abstain.

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roll call British  

noun

1. the reading aloud of an official list of names, those present responding when their names are read out

2. the time or signal for such a reading

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Etymology

Origin of roll call

First recorded in 1765–75

Example Sentences

After conducting a roll call at the evacuation center, facility staff realized that two residents were unaccounted for and alerted the Sheriff’s Department, the report said.

From Los Angeles Times

Eastern on Wednesday, and a roll call could be tight.

From MarketWatch

Senate to urge streaming companies to begin offering customers the privately funded television service, which has provided nonpartisan gavel-to-gavel television coverage of congressional hearings and roll call votes for decades.

From Los Angeles Times

Government systems can fast-track billion-dollar projects, but until this much more affordable priority gets that kind of attention, the rules are just ink on paper, and the roll call of the dead just grows longer.

From Los Angeles Times

Even if he were right, though, the rapid-fire historical roll call of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” deserves our respect as a crucial artifact of a pre-internet America.

From Los Angeles Times