call sign

• callsign, call-sign

call sign (plural call signs)

1. (broadcasting) A combination of letters and numbers used to identify a radio or television station.

   Synonym: call letters

2. (military) Any combination of characters or pronounceable words, which identifies a communication facility, a command, an authority, an activity, or a unit; used primarily for establishing and maintaining communications.

   Synonym: (initialism) CS

   Coordinate terms: name, handle, alias

   • 1986, Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr., Top Gun (motion picture):

     Charlie: I'm Charlotte Blackwood.
     Maverick: I'm Maverick.
     Charlie: Did your mother not like you?
     Maverick: No, it's my call sign.

   • 2023 June 17, Dan Sabbagh, “‘It’s 21st-century warfare’: on Ukraine’s counteroffensive frontline”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:

     Four drone operators, led by Shved, whose call sign means “the Swede” on account of his blond hair, […]

• callings