Re-call or recall?
re-call is a verb meaning “Alternative form of recall (“To call again.”)”; recall is a verb meaning “To withdraw, retract (one's words etc.); to revoke (an order)”. re-call is written with a hyphen and recall as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between re-call and recall?
| re-call | recall | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | verb | verb, noun |
| Meaning | Alternative form of recall (“To call again.”) | To withdraw, retract (one's words etc.); to revoke (an order) To call back, bring back, or summon (someone) to a specific place, station, etc Request of the return of a faulty product |
| Example | none recorded | He was recalled to service after his retirement |
| Forms | re-calls, re-calling, re-called | recalls, recalling, recalled |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ɹɪˈkɔːl/ /ɹɪˈkɔl/ /ɹiˈkɔl/ |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 25 times per million words |
Sources: re-call and recall in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of re-call and recall
re-call
- 1
Alternative form of recall (“To call again.”)
recall
- 1
To withdraw, retract (one's words etc.); to revoke (an order)
- 2
Request of the return of a faulty product
recall campaign
- 3
To call back, bring back, or summon (someone) to a specific place, station, etc
He was recalled to service after his retirement
- 4
USThe 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…
recall petition
- 5
USTo remove an elected official through a petition and direct vote
- 6
USThe 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…
- 7
To bring back (someone) to or from a particular mental or physical state, activity etc
- 8
Memory; the ability to remember
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, re-call or recall?
re-call is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; recall 25 times per million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).