A close call is a situation where something bad almost happened but didn't. When you're riding your bike and a car suddenly backs out of a driveway, forcing you to brake hard just in time, that's a close call. When a baseball flies straight at a fielder's head but he ducks at the last second, he just had a close call.

The phrase captures that heart-pounding moment when danger or failure passes by so narrowly you can almost feel it. A student might have a close call when they think they lost their finished homework but find it crumpled at the bottom of their backpack just before class starts. A hiker who slips near a cliff edge but catches themselves has experienced a close call they won't soon forget.

People often say “That was close!” or “That was too close!” right after a close call, usually while their heart is still racing. The phrase reminds us that sometimes we avoid disaster by just inches or seconds. While close calls can be scary in the moment, they often make us more careful afterward. When someone says they had a close call, they usually mean they feel lucky or relieved that things turned out okay.