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

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Etymology

Origin of recall

First recorded in 1575–85; re- + call

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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

When they fell behind 4-0 on Saturday, the Brewers didn’t have to think back very far to recall a time when they overcame that kind of deficit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

"My mother would forever recall the Queen's visit in 1996."

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

The recall classification was updated this month to Class ll — meaning exposure to the product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

These disruptions can affect the ability to recall personal experiences and access stored knowledge, including words and their meanings.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026

I suddenly recall the sound of Voodoo drums wafting into the army barracks in Mirebalais at night, when I visited Haiti as a journalist, around the time I first met Farmer.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

“I’ve just got to be there for Jim and Hilaree and her family,” he recalls telling her.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

Then again, TJ recalls his appearance at May’s ACM Awards, where he presented Langley with the prize for female artist of the year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

He recalls their first encounter as a “huge bummer.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

“I’d been playing a lot of Broadway softball,” the 35-year-old Klena recalls to me as his fellow Bananas warm up on the diamond.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

It was brief, I can promise that much, for although it’s been many years now since my children ruled my life, a mother recalls the measure of the silences.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

She recalled an "extreme amount of pain" and being very confused, adding: "I didn't know what was going on and I couldn't speak. I think I was most confused about that."

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

Gemeda recalled a father coming into the store one day, insisting that his daughter get the firm-soled shoes he’d long used.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

“The rates are not going to go anywhere like crazy because that was a very stable time,” he recalled thinking then.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

The story about David is the one most often recalled Monday, because it really was a story about his father.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

“In the first days of mobilization there was of course a lot of enthusiasm,” recalled Robert Poustis, who was a French student at the time.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

"I would be such a grump," says Caitlin Andrew, recalling her teenage self on walks with her parents.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

The researchers acknowledged that the study relied on participants recalling what they had eaten and drunk, which can introduce measurement errors.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026

“Great,” Hibbs told me, recalling his reaction at the time.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026

It’s a very Spader-y performance, arch, ironic, low-key, recalling his scenes with William Shatner in “Boston Legal.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

I was too sulky to speak and took my mind off my troubles by recalling how Hog Scald Road got its name.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

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Related Words

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

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