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re·call (rĭ-kôl)
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tr.v. re·called, re·call·ing, re·calls
1. To ask or order to return: recalled all workers who had been laid off.
2.
a. To remember; recollect: I don't recall her name.
b. To be reminiscent of; seem similar to: a movie that recalls the screwball comedies of the 1940s.
c. To summon back to awareness of or concern with the subject or situation at hand: The opening of the door recalled me from my reverie.
3. To cancel, take back, or revoke: recall a move in chess.
4. To bring back; restore: "an atmosphere of penetrating fragrance, the gentle potency of which had recalled her from her death-like faintness" (Nathaniel Hawthorne).
5. To subject (an elected official) to a recall.
6. To request return of (a product) to the manufacturer, as for necessary repairs or adjustments.
n. (also rēkôl′)
1. The act of recalling or summoning back, especially an official order to return: the recall of the ambassador.
2. A signal, such as a bugle call, used to summon troops back to their posts.
3. The ability to remember information or experiences: has total recall of the accident.
4. The act of revoking: the recall of an answer in a spelling bee.
5.
a. The procedure by which an elected official may be removed from office by popular vote.
b. The right to employ this procedure.
6. A request by the manufacturer of a product that has been identified as defective to return it, as for necessary repairs or adjustments.
re·calla·ble adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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