sick call: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
Low-medium (common in military/institutional contexts, rare in general conversation).Formal/institutional, primarily military.
Quick answer
What does “sick call” mean?
A designated time for military personnel to report their illness to medical staff in order to receive treatment or exemption from duties.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A designated time for military personnel to report their illness to medical staff in order to receive treatment or exemption from duties.
A formal request or period for reporting illness, typically within an institutional context like the military, prisons, or boarding schools. In general civilian use, it can sometimes refer to contacting a doctor due to illness.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
More common and established in American military parlance. British English might use 'sick parade' or simply 'reporting sick' in equivalent military contexts.
Connotations
Institutional procedure, following chain of command, official documentation of health status.
Frequency
Virtually exclusive to military/institutional settings in both varieties; not used in casual civilian healthcare conversations.
Grammar
How to Use “sick call” in a Sentence
Soldier + attends/reports for/misses + sick callMedical officer + holds + sick callVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “sick call” in a Sentence
noun
British English
- The new recruit was instructed to attend sick parade if he felt unwell.
- Missing the morning sick call could result in a disciplinary note.
American English
- The sergeant announced that sick call would be at 0600 hours sharp.
- Several Marines reported for sick call with respiratory symptoms.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Not used.
Academic
Rare; only in historical or sociological studies of military life.
Everyday
Extremely rare outside of people with military experience.
Technical
Standard term in military medicine and organizational protocols.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “sick call”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “sick call”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “sick call”
- Using it for calling in sick to a civilian job (use 'call in sick').
- Using it as a synonym for a doctor's appointment.
- Capitalising it as a proper noun when not at the start of a sentence.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. That is 'calling in sick'. 'Sick call' is specific to institutional/military settings where people physically assemble to report illness.
Primarily, but in modern military contexts, it can also be the initial point of contact for mental health concerns that affect duty status.
A 'sick call' is an open, often daily, session for reporting new ailments. A 'doctor's appointment' is a pre-arranged, specific time for consultation, often for ongoing issues.
Extremely rarely. A civilian might encounter it in historical novels, military memoirs, or when dealing with institutions like prisons that use similar formal procedures.
A designated time for military personnel to report their illness to medical staff in order to receive treatment or exemption from duties.
Sick call is usually formal/institutional, primarily military. in register.
Sick call: in British English it is pronounced /ˈsɪk ˌkɔːl/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈsɪk ˌkɔːl/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Answering the sick call (figuratively: responding to a need or complaint)”
- “Too sick for sick call (ironic: too ill to even report being ill)”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a soldier feeling SICK who must CALL out his name at a morning roll-call for the ill.
Conceptual Metaphor
ILLNESS IS A FORMAL REPORT / HEALTH IS A DUTY STATUS.
Practice
Quiz
In which context is the term 'sick call' most appropriately used?