Meanings
plural margin calls
- businessA request by a stockbroker or similar for a client to deposit more money in order to cover losses that have built up in open positions held on margin (rather than having been paid for in full).
In a liquidity crisis, as we have seen all too recently, a sudden tightening of credit sets off a vicious cycle of margin calls that lead to forced sales, which in turn cause asset prices to plunge, and so on.
2009 August 9, Mark Hulbert, “Buy and Hold, or Buy and Fold. But Don't Waver.”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 Nov 2022
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna demand by a broker that a customer deposit enough to bring their margin up to the minimum requirement
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Finnish vakuuksien muutospyyntö
- vakuuksien muutospyyntörequest to deposit more
German Nachschussforderung
- Nachschussforderungrequest to deposit more
Cite this entry
margin call. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/margin%20call
“margin call.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/margin%20call. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “margin call,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/margin%20call.
Source: margin call on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.