call the ball

verb

When landing on a US aircraft carrier: to sight the lights from the multi-colored optical landing system that shows a pilot to be on the correct approach path or how to correct the approach path.

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Meanings

verbcall the ball (third-person singular simple present calls the ball, present participle calling the ball, simple past and past participle called the ball)

present singular third person calls the ball · participle present calling the ball · participle past called the ball · past called the ball

  1. USaeronauticsWhen landing on a US aircraft carrier: to sight the lights from the multi-colored optical landing system that shows a pilot to be on the correct approach path or how to correct the approach path.

    - Maverick, call the ball.

    1986, Top Gun (film)
Cite this entry
APA

call the ball. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/call%20the%20ball

MLA

“call the ball.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/call%20the%20ball. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “call the ball,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/call%20the%20ball.

Source: call the ball on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.