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Emergency Medicine & First Aid vocabulary · Emergency Calls

Emergency call

Meaning in emergency medicine & first aid, with examples

/ɪˈmɜːrdʒənsi kɔːl/nounCore term

In emergency medicine & first aid, emergency call means: A phone call to an emergency number, such as 112, 911 or 999, to ask for an ambulance, the police or the fire service.

In Turkish: acil çağrı, acil arama, ihbar

How it is used

You make or take an emergency call; call centres receive, record and log them. Call handlers first need the exact location and then what has happened. A fake call is a 'hoax call', and calls about problems that are not emergencies can delay help for others.

Example sentences

  1. The emergency call came in at 3:42 a.m. from a farmhouse.

  2. Every emergency call is recorded.

Common collocations

  • make an emergency call
  • take an emergency call
  • emergency call centre
  • hoax call
  • 999 call
  • dispatcherA person in an emergency call centre who answers calls, decides what help is needed and sends ambulances or other services.
  • What's your emergency?A standard opening question asked by emergency call handlers, especially in North America, to find out quickly what kind of help the caller needs.
  • stay on the lineA request to a caller not to hang up, so that the call handler can ask more questions or give instructions until help arrives.
  • call an ambulanceTo phone the emergency number and ask for an ambulance to come to a sick or injured person.

More terms: Emergency Calls

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.