recall
/rɪˈkɔːl/ (bre, ipa) · /rɪˈkɔːl/ (ame, ipa) · /ri-ˈkȯl/ (ame, mw) · /ˈriː.kɔːl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈriː.kɑːl/ (ame, ipa)
recall — verb
- recallpresent simple I / you / we / they
- recallshe / she / it
- recalledpast simple
- recalling-ing form
1. To deliberately bring a past experience, event, or piece of information back int
To deliberately bring a past experience, event, or piece of information back into your conscious mind — for example, recalling the name of a song or what someone said at a meeting.
Leo recalled every detail of his first trip to Japan ten years later.
recall + noun phrase for remembering details
The retired teacher could still recall the names of all her students from the 1990s.
recall + noun phrase (ability to remember specific facts)
Yael struggled to recall where she had left the keys before the dinner party.
When police asked about the robbery, Nadia recalled seeing a man in a blue jacket.
Do you recall what the speaker said at the start of the meeting?
- forget
To fail to remember or bring to mind.
文法句型
recall + noun phrase
recall + that-clause
recall + wh-clause
recall + V-ing
用法筆記
Often used with a that-clause, a wh-clause, or a gerund (V-ing). The subject is usually a person making an effort to remember. With a that-clause, the fact being remembered is stated as a full idea: 'I recall that the doors were locked.' This sense is slightly more formal than 'remember'.
常見錯誤
2. To make someone think of something else through a shared quality or resemblance,
To make someone think of something else through a shared quality or resemblance, without the person actively trying to remember — for example, a smell recalling a childhood kitchen or a building recalling a foreign style.
The smell of fresh bread recalled the mornings Nikhil spent with his grandmother.
subject = sensory trigger (smell, sound, sight)
The new film's style recalls the black-and-white movies of the 1950s.
recall + noun phrase for resemblance
That old song recalls the summer Lan spent studying in Paris.
The building's tall arched windows recall a French style from the 1700s.
文法句型
recall + noun phrase (subject = thing that reminds)
用法筆記
The subject is the thing that triggers the memory, not the person remembering. This sense is never used with a human subject who actively tries to remember. Unlike sense 1, there is no deliberate effort involved — the resemblance simply strikes you.
常見錯誤
3. To officially demand that a product be sent back because it has a fault or safet
To officially demand that a product be sent back because it has a fault or safety problem, or to order a person — usually a diplomat or official — to come back from a place.
The car company recalled 50,000 vehicles because of a brake problem.
product recall: company + number + fault reason
The ambassador was recalled to Washington after the crisis began.
passive: be recalled + to [location] for a person
The company recalled all the faulty baby chairs after several children got hurt.
The government recalled its diplomats from the country for safety reasons.
- call back
More general and less formal; can mean simply asking someone to return.
- summon back
More formal; used for officials or representatives.
文法句型
recall + noun phrase (product or person)
be recalled + to [location]
用法筆記
Commonly used in the passive form ('were recalled'). When referring to products, the subject is usually a company or manufacturer. When referring to people, the subject is typically a government or organization calling back its representative.
常見錯誤
recall — noun
- recallsingular
- recallsplural
1. The natural mental ability to retrieve past information or experiences from your
The natural mental ability to retrieve past information or experiences from your mind.
The witness showed perfect recall of the events during the trial.
uncountable: perfect recall / total recall
After the fall, Christopher's recall of recent events was quite poor.
recall + of + noun phrase
The chess champion's recall of games from twenty years ago amazed the reporters.
Bilal reads about memory recall to help with his study techniques.
- memory
More common and general; can be countable ('a good memory').
- recollection
Slightly more formal; often refers to a specific remembered experience.
- forgetfulness
The tendency to forget things.
用法筆記
Uncountable — you cannot say 'a recall' in this sense. Often used in the phrases 'total recall' (perfect memory) and 'memory recall'. The verb form (sense 1 of verb) is far more common than this noun.
常見錯誤
2. An official request by a company for customers to return a product that has a pr
An official request by a company for customers to return a product that has a problem, usually a safety fault.
Toyota announced a recall of 1.2 million cars due to engine problems.
collocation: announce/issue a recall
The food company issued a voluntary recall after customers found metal in the soup.
voluntary recall — company's own decision
The safety recall affected all products made between January and March this year.
Parents rushed to check if their children's car seats were part of the recall.
- callback
Less common; sometimes used interchangeably with 'recall' for products.
用法筆記
Countable — you can say 'a recall' or 'recalls'. Often appears in news headlines and business reports. Frequently used attributively before another noun ('recall notice', 'recall campaign').
常見錯誤
3. A political process in which citizens vote to end an elected official's term ear
A political process in which citizens vote to end an elected official's term early.
Voters started a recall campaign against the mayor after the scandal broke.
collocation: recall campaign
The governor faced a recall election following the investigation into his finances.
collocation: recall election
Recall petitions need enough signatures before the vote can take place.
The senator survived a recall attempt after promising to change the policy.
- impeachment
A different process — impeachment is brought by a legislative body, while recall is a public vote.
用法筆記
Chiefly American English. Refers to a specific political procedure, not the general idea of removal. Common in the phrases 'recall election', 'recall campaign', and 'recall petition'. This sense is rare in everyday conversation but appears in political news.