Recall Meaning
/ɹɪˈkɔːl/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo withdraw, retract (one's words etc.); to revoke (an order).
verbTo call back, bring back, or summon (someone) to a specific place, station, etc.
Sentence Examples
What was the name of the hotel? I can't recall it.
I can't recall her name.
She could not recall his name.
CEFR Practice Quiz
She tried to ____ the name of the restaurant where they had dinner last year.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She struggled to ____ the exact details of the conversation that had taken place years earlier.
Word Origin & History
From re- + call, probably modelled on Latin revocāre, French rappeler, English withcall.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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:
"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:
"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:
"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:
"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:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She tried to ____ the name of the restaurant where they had dinner last year.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She struggled to ____ the exact details of the conversation that had taken place years earlier.