rallying cry

noun

plural rallying cries

: a shouted word, phrase, or sound used by a body of fighters before or in battle : battle cry, war cry

… the innocent ejaculation hurrah! became a fearsome rallying cry in Napoleonic times.—

Geoffrey Hughes

: something (such as a catchphrase, incident, or event) that is used to excite people to support a cause or to rouse people to action

Lions captain Sam Warburton issued a rallying cry to his team yesterday … by urging them to "reach for the stars".—

Mick Cleary

Ultimately, just 6 per cent of people would tell businesses to "keep doing what you're doing". If these findings do not act as a rallying cry for change, it is unclear what will.—

Frank Luntz

Both campaigns have seized on the attempt to ban that book in schools as a rallying cry.—

Edward Keenan

The much-despised gabelle, a tax first imposed on salt in France in the 13th century and at times soaring to 10 times the cost of producing salt in the first place, became a rallying cry for the French Revolution …—

Ligaya Mishan

Examples of rallying cry in a Sentence

the rallying cry of a political movement “We believe!” became the rallying cry of the fans.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Here are some five takeaways and the full list of award winners: Democracy under threat With Russian – or Soviet – rule still vivid in the memories of the Baltic nations, solidarity with Ukraine, indie Georgian cinema and Belarusian filmmakers in exile were natural rallying cries in Tallinn. —

Annika Pham, Variety, 23 Nov. 2024 The hope and abandon behind a famous rallying cry Arsenal's road to 2,000 top-flight wins - the history and the memories How United's internationals performed in the October break: Eriksen 'hungry', De Ligt out of favour Are Liverpool and Chelsea about to revive an historic rivalry? —

New York Times, 17 Oct. 2024 Trump uses Biden comments as rallying cry, Harris continues to distance from 'garbage' controversy. —

Fox News, 31 Oct. 2024 This is why the most important work a brand must do is to figure out a common rallying cry, an emotional tug that can last forever. —

Deepa Nagraj, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for rallying cry