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call
[kawl]
verb (used with object)
to cry out in a loud voice; shout.
He called her name to see if she was home.
to command or request to come; summon.
to call a dog;
to call a cab;
to call a witness.
to ask or invite to come.
Will you call the family to dinner?
to communicate or try to communicate with by telephone.
Call me when you arrive.
to rouse from sleep, as by a call; waken.
Call me at eight o'clock.
to read over (a roll or a list) in a loud voice.
to convoke or convene.
We will now call Congress into session.
to announce authoritatively; proclaim.
The company called a halt to production of their latest line after many items failed quality checks.
to order into effect; decree.
The union is planning to call a strike late this year.
to schedule.
The director should call one more rehearsal before opening night.
to summon by or as if by divine command.
He felt called to the ministry.
to summon to an office, duty, etc..
His country called him to service during the Korean War.
to cause to come; bring.
to call to mind;
to call into existence.
to bring under consideration or discussion.
The judge called the case to court.
to attract or lure (birds or animals) by imitating characteristic sounds.
to direct or attract (attention).
He called his roommate's attention to the mess.
to name or address (someone) as.
His parents named him James, but the boys call him Jim.
to designate as something specified.
He called me a liar.
to think of as something specified; consider; estimate.
I call that a mean remark.
to demand of (someone) that they fulfill a promise, furnish evidence for a statement, etc..
They called him on his story.
to criticize adversely; express disapproval of; censure.
She called him on his vulgar language.
to demand payment or fulfillment of (a loan).
to demand presentation of (bonds) for redemption.
to forecast correctly.
He has called the outcome of the last three elections.
Sports., (of an official)
to pronounce a judgment on (a shot, pitch, batter, etc.).
The umpire called the pitch a strike.
to put an end to (a contest) because of inclement weather, poor field conditions, etc..
A sudden downpour forced the umpire to call the game.
Pool., to name (the ball) one intends to drive into a particular pocket.
Computers., to invoke (a subroutine or procedure) in a computer program.
Cards.
to demand (a card).
to demand the display of a hand by (a player).
Poker., to equal (a bet) or equal the bet made by (the preceding bettor) in a round.
Bridge., to signal one's partner for a lead of (a certain card or suit).
verb (used without object)
to speak loudly, as to attract attention; shout; cry.
She called to the children.
to telephone or try to telephone a person.
He promised to call at noon.
to make a short visit; stop at a place on some errand or business.
She called at the store for the package.
Cards.
to demand a card.
to demand a showing of hands.
Poker., to equal a bet.
Bridge., to bid or pass.
(of a bird or animal) to utter its characteristic cry.
noun
a cry or shout.
She gave a call across the lawn to her friend.
the cry or vocal sound of a bird or other animal.
A crow's call sounds different from a raven's.
an instrument for imitating this cry and attracting or luring an animal.
He bought a duck call.
an act or instance of telephoning.
She returned his call as soon as her meeting was over.
a short visit.
to make a call on someone.
a summons or signal sounded by a bugle, bell, etc..
We live so close to the fort that we can hear the bugle calls.
a summons, invitation, or bidding.
The students gathered at the call of the dean.
a calling of a roll; roll call.
the fascination or appeal of a given place, vocation, etc..
the call of the sea.
a mystic experience of divine appointment to a vocation or service.
He had a call to become a minister.
a request or invitation to become pastor of a church, a professor in a university, etc.
a need or occasion.
He had no call to say such outrageous things.
a demand or claim.
to make a call on a person's time.
a demand for payment of an obligation, especially where payment is at the option of the creditor.
Cards.
a demand for a card or a showing of hands.
Poker., an equaling of the preceding bet.
Bridge., a bid or pass.
Sports., a judgment or decision by an umpire, a referee, or other official of a contest, as on a shot, pitch, or batter.
The referees were making one bad call after another.
Theater.
a notice of rehearsal posted by the stage manager.
Dance., a figure or direction in square dancing, announced to the dancers by the caller.
Also called call option. Finance., an option that gives the right to buy a fixed amount of a particular stock at a predetermined price within a given period of time, purchased by a person who believes the price will rise.
Fox Hunting., any of several cries, or sounds made on a horn by the hunter to encourage the hounds.
verb phrase
call on / upon
to ask; appeal to.
They called on him to represent them.
to visit for a short time.
to call on friends.
call down
to request or pray for; invoke.
to call down the wrath of God.
to reprimand; scold.
The boss called us down for lateness.
call back., callback.
call off
to distract; take away.
Please call off your dog.
to cancel (something) that had been planned for a certain date.
The performance was called off because of rain.
call forth, to summon into action; bring into existence.
to call forth her courage and resolve.
call away, to cause to leave or go; summon.
A death in the family called him away.
call in., call in.
call for
call up
to bring forward for consideration or discussion.
to cause to remember; evoke.
to communicate or try to communicate with by telephone.
to summon for action or service.
A large number of Army reservists were called up.
Computers., to summon (information) from a computer system for display on a screen.
She called up the full text.
call in / into question., question.
call out., callout.
call
/ kɔːl /
verb
(often foll by out) to speak or utter (words, sounds, etc) loudly so as to attract attention
he called out her name
(tr) to ask or order to come
to call a policeman
to make a visit (to)
she called on him
(often foll by up) to telephone (a person)
he called back at nine
(tr) to summon to a specific office, profession, etc
he was called to the ministry
(of animals or birds) to utter (a characteristic sound or cry)
(tr) to summon (a bird or animal) by imitating its cry
(tr) to name or style
they called the dog Rover
(tr) to designate
they called him a coward
dialect, (tr) to speak ill of or scold
(tr) to regard in a specific way
I call it a foolish waste of time
(tr) to attract (attention)
(tr) to read (a list, register, etc) aloud to check for omissions or absentees
to give an order (for)
to call a strike
(intr) to try to predict the result of tossing a coin
(tr) to awaken
I was called early this morning
(tr) to cause to assemble
to call a meeting
(tr) sport (of an umpire, referee, etc) to pass judgment upon (a shot, player, etc) with a call
(tr) to broadcast a commentary on (a horse race or other sporting event)
(tr) to demand repayment of (a loan, redeemable bond, security, etc)
accounting to demand payment of (a portion of a share issue not yet paid by subscribers)
(tr) to award (a student at an Inn of Court) the degree of barrister (esp in the phrase call to the bar )
(tr) computing to transfer control to (a named subprogram)
(tr) poker to demand that (a player) expose his hand, after equalling his bet
(intr) bridge to make a bid
(in square-dancing) to call out (instructions) to the dancers
billiards to ask (a player) to say what kind of shot he will play or (of a player) to name his shot
to require
this problem calls for study
to come or go (for) in order to fetch
I will call for my book later
(intr; foll by on or upon) to make an appeal or request (to)
they called upon him to reply
(tr) to predict the outcome of an event
we don't know yet if the plan has succeeded because it's too soon to call
to create
to begin to operate
See question
to stop work or other activity
(of the outcome of a competition, election, match, etc) unable to be predicted
to remember or cause to be remembered
noun
a cry or shout
the characteristic cry of a bird or animal
a device, such as a whistle, intended to imitate the cry of a bird or animal
a summons or invitation
a summons or signal sounded on a horn, bugle, etc
hunting any of several notes or patterns of notes, blown on a hunting horn as a signal
hunting
an imitation of the characteristic cry of a wild animal or bird to lure it to the hunter
an instrument for producing such an imitation
a short visit
the doctor made six calls this morning
an inner urge to some task or profession; vocation
allure or fascination, esp of a place
the call of the forest
the summons to the bar of a student member of an Inn of Court
need, demand, or occasion
there is no call to shout
we don't get much call for stockings these days
demand or claim (esp in the phrase the call of duty )
theatre a notice to actors informing them of times of rehearsals
(in square dancing) an instruction to execute new figures
a conversation or a request for a connection by telephone
commerce
a demand for repayment of a loan
( as modifier )
call money
finance
a demand for redeemable bonds or shares to be presented for repayment
a demand for an instalment payment on the issue price of bonds or shares
billiards a demand to an opponent to say what kind of shot he will play
poker a demand for a hand or hands to be exposed
bridge a bid, or a player's turn to bid
a decision or judgment
it's your call
sport a decision of an umpire or referee regarding a shot, pitch, etc
a broadcast commentary on a horse race or other sporting event
Also called: call option. stock exchange an option to buy a stated amount of securities at a specified price during a specified period Compare put
See roll call
stock exchange a demand made by a stockbroker for partial payment of a client's debt due to decreasing value of the collateral
See nature
(of a loan, etc) repayable on demand
available to be called for work outside normal working hours
within range; accessible
Other Word Forms
- uncalled adjective
- well-called adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of call1
Word History and Origins
Origin of call1
Idioms and Phrases
call to order. order.
take a call, to acknowledge the applause of the audience after a performance by appearing for a bow or a curtain call.
call in sick. sick.
on call,
payable or subject to return without advance notice.
readily available for summoning upon short notice.
within call, within distance or range of being spoken to or summoned.
Please stay within call.
More idioms and phrases containing call
- above and beyond (the call of duty)
- at someone's beck and call
- close call
- dressing (calling) down
- no call for
- on call
- pay a call
- pot calling the kettle black
- too close to call
- uncalled for
- wake-up call
- within call
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
The crew chief, Adrian Johnson, took the bat and called a review to verify the legality of the discoloration on barrel.
On Wednesday, a group of Epstein victims and their families held a press conference on the steps of the Capitol to support the discharge petition and call for full disclosure in the Epstein case.
The report, titled "A War of Atrocities" called on the international community to enforce an arms embargo as well as set up an independent judicial process to ensure alleged perpetrators face justice.
The settlement, which needs judicial approval before taking effect, calls for Norwalk to repeal its ban at an upcoming City Council meeting, Bonta said in a release.
The Met said that it was called to a building in Aylesbury Estate on 17 March to reports of an unresponsive woman.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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