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Glite Dictionary
port of call

port of call

6 3.4
A port where a ship stops during a journey away from home
  • noun
  • /pɔrt əv kɔl/
: puerto de escala
  • The Wanderer reached its first port of call, Port of Spain, Trinidad, in eighteen days.
  • the first port of call

But the first port of call for many is OK, cut head count, cut quality, reduce pay, you know, get rid of this benefit.

Examples

  • Your first port of call's not Delhi, it's Mumbai.

    The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)

  • You will be put ashore safely at a British port of call at the first opportunity.

    Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)

  • -So, what's the next port of call?

    The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

  • NHS and independent hospitals would be your first port of call.

    Blog text (9)

  • So I forgot about it and started contemplating my next port of call.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • There's no doubt about it, LinkedIn should be the first port of call for any pre-interview research.

    Blog text (2)

  • Although patients will be reviewed regularly at their local rheumatology unit, you will often be the first port of call for someone experiencing an exacerbation of symptoms.

    Academic text (2014)

  • Vietnam was our fourth port of call, and Balaban had joined us in Hong Kong, our previous landing, as an interport lecturer.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • During our cruise, Barcelona will be the first port of call before we head to Rome.

  • The ship's itinerary included several exciting ports of call around the Caribbean.

Synonyms

seaport
vsport of call
14 2.2

A town or city by the sea where ships load and unload things and people

is about a stop on a voyage rather than the town's loading role

Surface Forms

port of call singular
ports of call plural

Morphology

port + of + call

The meaning 'a port where a ship stops' is directly derivable from combining 'port' (harbor) with 'call' (a visit/stop) linked by 'of', so the overall sense is a harbour at which a vessel calls. This noun-of-noun composition is a common, cross-linguistic pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words should be able to infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Port of call comes from old sea travel. It paints a simple picture of a ship stopping at a port to 'call', that is, to make a short visit for supplies or passengers, so today it means 'a place where a ship stops during a journey'.