1A warning cry made by a bird or other animal when startled.
‘the alarm call stimulates other nearby blackbirds to take evasive action’
‘They'll give off an alarm call that other birds can hear for miles.’
‘As soon as the fruit began to ripen, a walk down the garden would be greeted by a Blackbird or Song Thrush alarm call as the birds inside the cage tried to get out.’
‘To exclude the possibility of a male calling in response to the other males' alarm calls rather than to potential predators, an alarm call was ignored if uttered within 10 s the call of the other male.’
‘This is usually an alarm call whose pitch is raised when a threat stalks her eggs or chicks.’
‘In research terms, the grunts are known as functionally referential signals: signals that animals give to each other in response to an outside event or object, such as an alarm call that warns of a predator.’
2A phone call made by prior arrangement to wake the person called.
‘I suppose there are other options such as television, or an telephone alarm call, or a timer on the hi-fi to play a CD.’
‘After an early alarm call and a four-hour journey to London, Cougars could have been forgiven if it had been their early play which was sluggish, but they hit the Skolars hard.’
‘I trot back to bed for two minutes' sleep and the next alarm call.’
‘My alarm call was set for 6.45 am, but for the second day in a row I woke up at 5.’
‘I got a very small amount of sleep before the alarm call and a 5: 45 am pick up by a driver and on to the airport.’
‘Growing up in Clydebank, his alarm call each morning was the horn from the local Singer factory, which sounded at a quarter to eight.’
‘I had an alarm call for 8: 00 am as you have to get up early if you want be up in time for breakfast at these Bed & Breakfast places.’
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