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.

The term is a popular rallying cry for those who want companies and third-level institutions to stop doing business with the state of Israel. —

Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 8 Feb. 2025 No American soccer fan who lived through the build-up to that World Cup in Germany — and the USMNT’s catastrophic performance in the tournament itself — will ever forget Deuce’s rallying cry: Don’t. —

Jeff Rueter, The Athletic, 23 Nov. 2024 But Trump’s insistence that the elections were rigged against him and his allies continues to be a potent rallying cry—and fund-raising call—for his base. —

Paul Moakley, The New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2024 Short, memorable phrases serve as rallying cries, giving people a sense of direction and purpose. —

Scott Hutcheson, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for rallying cry