margin call

noun

plural margin calls

: a demand made to an investor by a broker or brokerage firm for more funds or securities to be added to a margin account when the equity in the account falls below a certain threshold

In other words, a margin call is a demand that you increase the equity in your margin account to sufficient levels through one or more transactions.—

Kevin L. Matthews II

… the nation's largest discount-brokerage house, said Thursday it expects to take a $22 million charge against fourth-quarter earnings because of the failure of several customers to satisfy recent margin calls.—

Paul Farhi

Examples of margin call in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

For Black women, who are currently seeing unemployment rates surge, or Latinas struggling with high business interest rates, the margin call is not a theoretical economic concept. —

Katica Roy, Fortune, 21 Apr. 2026 One borrower who manages a large hedge fund hocked his wife’s eight-carat diamond ring—worth upwards of $600,000—after receiving a large margin call (the loan was eventually repaid and the ring was returned. —

Sergei Klebnikov, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2026