calling 911
Summoning first responders
Calling 911 is contacting emergency services in the United States and Canada by dialing that number.
The phrase extends to any urgent plea for help: This project is a disaster—I'm calling 911.
Someone might threaten to call 911 on a neighbor over a dispute, invoking official intervention.
The expression captures both genuine emergencies and melodramatic escalation.
- emergencySerious sudden danger
- 911Crisis response number
- dispatcherOne who allocates resources
- ambulanceEmergency medical transport
- policeCivil law enforcement
paramedics · first responders · sirens · operator · send help · help · panic · phone · urgent · accident · car crash · rescue · crime · home invasion · fire · trauma · bleeding · heart attack
- defensedefense, defending, protecting, protection, security
- rescuerescue, rescue team, search and rescue, rescue dog, save
- stress reactionspanic, fear, fright, terror, horror
action vs. inaction in crisis
calling 911doing nothing
Absence of activity
standing by · looking the other way · walking away · turning a blind eye · freezing up