From re- + call, probably modelled on Latin revocāre, French rappeler, English withcall.
Meanings
(countable, uncountable) The action or fact of calling someone or something back. ▸ Request of the return of a faulty product.
recall campaign
The recall said that no injuries related to the potentially unsterile facility have been reported. 2024 February 28, Ramishah Maruf, “Popular eye ointments may not be sterile, recall warns”, in CNN:
(US, countable, uncountable) The action or fact of calling someone or something back. ▸ The right or procedure by which a public official may be removed from office before the end of their term of office, by a vote of the people to be taken on the filing of a petition signed by a required number or percentage of qualified voters.
representative recall
recall petition
(US, countable, uncountable) The action or fact of calling someone or something back. ▸ The right or procedure by which the decision of a court may be directly reversed or annulled by popular vote, as was advocated, in 1912, in the platform of the Progressive Party for certain cases involving the police power of the state.
(countable, uncountable) Memory; the ability to remember.
One little-known incident in No. 49's life is worth recall. 1959 June, A. G. Dunbar, “The "Cardeans" of the Caledonian”, in Trains Illustrated, page 310:
(countable, qualifier:information retrieval; machine learning; information retrieval; machine learning, uncountable) The fraction of (all) relevant material that is returned by a search.
From re- + call, probably modelled on Latin revocāre, French rappeler, English withcall.
Meanings
(transitive) To withdraw, retract (one's words etc.); to revoke (an order).
(transitive) To call back, bring back, or summon (someone) to a specific place, station, etc.
He was recalled to service after his retirement.
Fernando Torres was recalled in place of the suspended Didier Drogba and he was only denied a goal in the opening seconds by Laurent Koscielny's intervention - a moment that set the tone for game filled with attacking quality and littered with errors. 2011 October 29, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 3 - 5 Arsenal”, in BBC Sport:
She was recalled to London for the trial.
(US, transitive) To remove an elected official through a petition and direct vote.
That stop-start-stop has created a groundswell of anger toward Mr. Newsom, a Democrat in the third year of his first term, that is increasingly fueling a movement to recall him from office in one of the bluest of blue states. 2021 February 19, Nellie Bowles, “Hurt by Lockdowns, California’s Small Businesses Push to Recall Governor”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
(transitive) To bring back (someone) to or from a particular mental or physical state, activity etc.
(intransitive, transitive) To call back (a situation, event, etc.) to one's mind; to remember; to recollect.
In fact, I hardly recall any occasion as a child when I was alone. 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus, published 2010, page 10:
“I remember what kind of game it was,” [Brian] Ferentz said, who was Iowa’s run-game coordinator in 2015. “It was not a shootout, if I recall correctly. I do recall correctly. We had to come up with a stop on the goal line; that ultimately is what won that football game in 2015.[…]” 2021 October 26, Scott Dochterman, “Run game, turnovers and physicality: Why football clichés have been anything but in the Iowa – Wisconsin rivalry”, in The Athletic, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 Nov 2025:
He recalls that experience in a smooth, speedy story, “The Monster Mash,” but these days he’s not sure he liked it too much — the disembowelings, the coolers of brains, the stench of decomposing corpses (“the smell of job security,” as one pathologist puts it) terrify him. 2008 June 15, Vanessa Grigoriadis, “Up in Smoke”, in The New York Times:
So many people have come and gone
Their faces fade as the years go by
Yet I still recall as I wander on
As clear as the sun in the summer sky 1976 August 25, Tom Scholz, “More Than a Feeling”, in Boston, performed by Boston:
Ferguson, perhaps recalling how United had been comprehensively outfought in the 3-1 defeat at Liverpool last season, opted for a side with a more pragmatic look with Phil Jones moved into a midfield role. 2011 October 15, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 1 - 1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport:
Nevertheless, there were many passengers on the recent special trains to whom the immaculate little 80-year-old "Terrier," No. 32636, formerly Fenchurch, and its two L.B.S.C.R. coaches, recalled nostalgic memories of the old days on the line, when the trains were always spick and span; and days when the Kemp Town branch train was packed to capacity. 1952 December, R. C. Riley, “By Rail to Kemp Town”, in Railway Magazine, page 836:
The scenework proves unsuccessful when Carmichael recalls not the source of her misandry but another episode of overacting, that of castratively biting off the moustache of an amorous man. 2016, Leslie H. Abramson, Hitchcock & the Anxiety of Authorship:
(transitive) To hearken back to, evoke; to be reminiscent of.
"The twinkling of the dancers' feet" comes to us in the Odyssey as a memory from that palace of Alkinoos, whose wonders recall to us so much that we have found in Crete. 1907, Ronald M. Burrows, The Discoveries In Crete, page 6:
The police had brought two civilians with them, including the 19-year-old son of one officer who helped to carry out the beer which was seized as evidence. Both were registered as ride alongs that night and their presence did not violate any laws, but Bouza saw this as another instance in which the officers showed "questionable judgment." This recalled an incident last February when three police officers brought their girlfriends along when raiding a gay bathhouse. 1983 August 20, Ruth Borenstein, “Harassment, Bad Judgment Cited in Twin Cities Bust”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 6, page 6:
(intransitive, transitive) To call again; to call another time.
(transitive) To request or order the return of (a faulty product).
On Feb. 26, the FDA posted a voluntary recall from Brassica Pharma, which is recalling several eye ointments with expiration dates ranging from February 2024 to September 2025. 2024 February 28, Ramishah Maruf, “Popular eye ointments may not be sterile, recall warns”, in CNN:
zdj hweshelea (to remember, recollect) · ota آڭمق (to remember, recollect) · sq kujtoj (to remember, recollect) · bg отзовавам (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · hu felidéz (to remember, recollect) · bg спомням си (to remember, recollect) · it riportare alla memoria (to remember, recollect) · cmn 召回 (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · el αναπολώ (to remember, recollect) · hu visszarendel (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · de zurückrufen (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · scn ricurdari (to remember, recollect) · it richiamare (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · cmn 憶起 /忆起 (to remember, recollect) · grc μιμνήσκομαι (to remember, recollect) · cy cofio (to remember, recollect) · es retirar (to order the return of (faulty product)) · pt recordar (to remember, recollect) · ka შეხსენება (to remember, recollect) · fi muistaa (to remember, recollect) · fr se rappeler (to remember, recollect) · it ricordare (to remember, recollect) · it ritirare (to order the return of (faulty product)) · ru отозва́ть (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · mi maumahara (to remember, recollect) · gd bi cuimhne aig (to remember, recollect) · th นึกถึง (to remember, recollect) · sv minnas (to remember, recollect) · cy adalw (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · uk зга́дувати (to remember, recollect) · pt lembrar (to remember, recollect) · vec recordar (to remember, recollect) · it revocare (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · de sich erinnern (to remember, recollect) · ar سَحَبَ (to order the return of (faulty product)) · fr rappeler (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · ca recordar (to remember, recollect) · cmn 追憶 /追忆 (to remember, recollect) · grc μνημονεύω (to remember, recollect) · ka მოგონება (to remember, recollect) · ru отзыва́ть (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · ru отзывать (to order the return of (faulty product)) · hu felelevenít (to remember, recollect) · it rammentare (to remember, recollect) · de gedenken (to remember, recollect) · cy adennill (to order the return of (faulty product)) · ru отозвать (to order the return of (faulty product)) · sa स्मरति (to remember, recollect) · nb tilbakekalle (to order the return of (faulty product)) · ru припоминать (to remember, recollect) · ja 思い出す (to remember, recollect) · scn arricurdari (to remember, recollect) · sv dra sig till minnes (to remember, recollect) · fr se remémorer (to remember, recollect) · ru вспомина́ть (to remember, recollect) · hu visszavon (to order the return of (faulty product)) · ar ٱسْتَدْعى (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · be паміна́ць (to remember, recollect) · sv komma ihåg (to remember, recollect) · got 𐌲𐌰𐌼𐌿𐌽𐌰𐌽 (to remember, recollect) · az geri çağırmaq (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · fi palauttaa mieleen (to remember, recollect) · de sich entsinnen (to remember, recollect) · hu visszahív (to order the return of (faulty product)) · es tener / hacer memoria de (to remember, recollect) · vec regordàr (to remember, recollect) · gd meòraich (to remember, recollect) · es remembrar (to remember, recollect) · de abrufen (to remember, recollect) · ko 생각나다 (to remember, recollect) · hu bevon (to order the return of (faulty product)) · cy adalw (to order the return of (faulty product)) · ja 想起する (to remember, recollect) · gd cuimhnich (to remember, recollect) · ist racurdà (to remember, recollect) · it ritirare (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · uk відклика́ти (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · eo rememori (to remember, recollect) · ru вспо́мнить (to remember, recollect) · kea lenbra (to remember, recollect) · mi mahara (to remember, recollect) · ca evocar (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · de rückrufen (to order the return of (faulty product)) · cmn 召回 (to order the return of (faulty product)) · bg отзовавам (to order the return of (faulty product)) · egy s-xA-A-A2 (to remember, recollect) · hu hazahív (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · la revocō (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · sv återkalla (to order the return of (faulty product)) · la recordor (to remember, recollect) · ar تَذَكَّرَ (to remember, recollect) · pt convocar (to order the return of (faulty product)) · pt reconvocar (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · ko 회상하다 (to remember, recollect) · nl herinneren (to remember, recollect) · ja 思い起す (to remember, recollect) · mi whakamaumahara (to remember, recollect) · fi takaisinkutsua (to order the return of (faulty product)) · vec recordàr (to remember, recollect) · co ricurdà (to remember, recollect) · cmn 罷免 /罢免 (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · ka გახსენება (to remember, recollect) · it richiamare (to order the return of (faulty product)) · fr se souvenir (to remember, recollect) · id menarik (to order the return of (faulty product)) · ro aminti (to remember, recollect) · fi kutsua takaisin (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · cmn 想起 (to remember, recollect) · be памяну́ць (to remember, recollect) · fr rappeler (to order the return of (faulty product)) · hu visszahív (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · de zurückrufen (to order the return of (faulty product)) · cmn 回憶 /回忆 (to remember, recollect) · cy adalw (to remember, recollect) · hu idéz (to remember, recollect) · cmn 回想 (to remember, recollect) · la meminī (to remember, recollect) · ja 呼び返す (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · fur ricuardâ (to remember, recollect) · bg връщам (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station) · vec regordar (to remember, recollect) · eo revoki (to call (someone) back to a specific place, station)