Close call

Close call

“Close call” is an expression we use when a situation could have turned out badly but just barely missed being a disaster . It can also describe a situation where the outcome is uncertain or extremely close. So those are two very different meanings and we’ll talk about both of them today. But in both cases, “close call” is about the narrow margin between two very different outcomes.

Narrow escape

Let’s start by using “close call” for when someone narrowly avoids a bad outcome . Imagine you’re driving down the highway , and suddenly , another car swerves into your lane . You slam on the brakes just in time, and the other car misses you by inches .

That’s a classic example of a “close call.” You were just moments away from a serious accident, maybe just inches away from a serious accident, but you avoided it at the last second. It was a “close call,” but you didn’t have the accident.

And that’s the key: with “close call,” the bad thing almost happens , but it doesn’t happen.

Here’s another example, not quite as bad as a car crash. Think about a time when you almost missed a flight or a bus or train or something. You arrive at the gate, or at the platform, just as the doors are about to close, but you do manage to get on with seconds to spare .

In this case, the “close call” was almost missing your flight or almost missing your bus. That was the bad thing that almost happened—but remember, you got on, you did just barely get there on time, so the bad thing didn’t happen.

In the summer of 2024, there was a close call in the town of Butler, Pennsylvania. Former U.S. President Donald Trump was at a campaign rally , outdoors. Trump turned his head to refer to a chart . And just at that moment, a bullet struck his ear . He was shot . And that is bad. But it was a minor wound to his ear. It could have been a lot worse—it would have been a lot worse if he hadn’t turned his head. That was a close call.

So you can see, we use “close call” in tense situations like this, where things could have been much worse. When you use “close call,” you express relief that you avoided a much worse outcome.

Tight decision

Another common use of the expression “close call” is when a decision is extremely difficult to make, and the outcome could easily go either way . We can use this in situations where the right answer isn’t immediately clear .

For example, imagine you’re planning an event and trying to decide whether to hold it inside or outside. The weather forecast is uncertain —it could be sunny , but there’s also a chance of rain. You weigh the pros and cons of each option: indoors, you avoid the risk of bad weather, but outdoors offers a more beautiful setting . You don’t know what the weather will be.

After thinking about it carefully , you might say, “I’m not sure if we should have it outside or not—it’s a close call.” And then you might ask someone else, “What do you think?” When you describe this decision as a “close call,” you’re saying that both options have strong points and it’s hard to make the right decision .

Difficult to determine

In that example, we were talking about a difficult decision to make. You can also use “close call” when it’s hard to see, or hard to determine , what happened.

In sports, “close call” is frequently used when a referee or umpire has to make a tough judgment call , based on what he or she saw.

For instance , in soccer, a referee might face a “close call” when determining whether a player was offside before scoring a goal . The players are so close that it’s hard to tell if the attacker was ahead of the last defender.

The decision might require video review , and even then, the difference might be razor-thin . Even when looking at a video replay , it might still be a close call because it’s hard to determine what really happened.