call

[ kawl ]

verb (used with object)

1. to cry out in a loud voice; shout:

   He called her name to see if she was home.

2. to command or request to come; summon:

   to call a dog;

   to call a cab;

   to call a witness.

3. to ask or invite to come:

   Will you call the family to dinner?

4. to communicate or try to communicate with by telephone:

   Call me when you arrive.

5. to rouse from sleep, as by a call; waken:

   Call me at eight o'clock.

6. to read over (a roll or a list) in a loud voice.
7. to convoke or convene:

   We will now call Congress into session.

8. to announce authoritatively; proclaim:

   The company called a halt to production of their latest line after many items failed quality checks.

9. to order into effect; decree:

   The union is planning to call a strike late this year.

10. to schedule:

    The director should call one more rehearsal before opening night.

11. to summon by or as if by divine command:

    He felt called to the ministry.

12. to summon to an office, duty, etc.:

    His country called him to service during the Korean War.

13. to cause to come; bring:

    to call to mind;

    to call into existence.

14. to bring under consideration or discussion:

    The judge called the case to court.

15. to attract or lure (birds or animals) by imitating characteristic sounds.
16. to direct or attract (attention):

    He called his roommate's attention to the mess.

17. to name or address (someone) as:

    His parents named him James, but the boys call him Jim.

18. to designate as something specified:

    He called me a liar.

19. to think of as something specified; consider; estimate:

    I call that a mean remark.

20. to demand of (someone) that they fulfill a promise, furnish evidence for a statement, etc.:

    They called him on his story.

21. to criticize adversely; express disapproval of; censure:

    She called him on his vulgar language.

22. to demand payment or fulfillment of (a loan).
23. to demand presentation of (bonds) for redemption.
24. to forecast correctly:

    He has called the outcome of the last three elections.

25. Sports. (of an official)
    1. to pronounce a judgment on (a shot, pitch, batter, etc.):

       The umpire called the pitch a strike.

    2. 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.

26. Pool. to name (the ball) one intends to drive into a particular pocket.
27. Computers. to invoke (a subroutine or procedure) in a computer program.
28. Cards.
    1. to demand (a card).
    2. to demand the display of a hand by (a player).
    3. Poker. to equal (a bet) or equal the bet made by (the preceding bettor) in a round.
    4. Bridge. to signal one's partner for a lead of (a certain card or suit).

verb (used without object)

1. to speak loudly, as to attract attention; shout; cry:

   She called to the children.

2. to telephone or try to telephone a person:

   He promised to call at noon.

3. to make a short visit; stop at a place on some errand or business:

   She called at the store for the package.

4. Cards.
   1. to demand a card.
   2. to demand a showing of hands.
   3. Poker. to equal a bet.
   4. Bridge. to bid or pass.
5. (of a bird or animal) to utter its characteristic cry.

noun

1. a cry or shout:

   She gave a call across the lawn to her friend.

2. the cry or vocal sound of a bird or other animal:

   A crow's call sounds different from a raven's.

3. an instrument for imitating this cry and attracting or luring an animal:

   He bought a duck call.

4. an act or instance of telephoning:

   She returned his call as soon as her meeting was over.

5. a short visit:

   to make a call on someone.

6. a summons or signal sounded by a bugle, bell, etc.:

   We live so close to the fort that we can hear the bugle calls.

7. a summons, invitation, or bidding:

   The students gathered at the call of the dean.

8. a calling of a roll; roll call.
9. the fascination or appeal of a given place, vocation, etc.:

   the call of the sea.

10. a mystic experience of divine appointment to a vocation or service:

    He had a call to become a minister.

11. a request or invitation to become pastor of a church, a professor in a university, etc.
12. a need or occasion:

    He had no call to say such outrageous things.

13. a demand or claim:

    to make a call on a person's time.

14. a demand for payment of an obligation, especially where payment is at the option of the creditor.
15. Cards.
    1. a demand for a card or a showing of hands.
    2. Poker. an equaling of the preceding bet.
    3. Bridge. a bid or pass.
16. 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.

17. Theater.
    1. a notice of rehearsal posted by the stage manager.
    2. act call.
    3. curtain call.
18. Dance. a figure or direction in square dancing, announced to the dancers by the caller.
19. 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. Compare put ( def 24 ).
20. Fox Hunting. any of several cries, or sounds made on a horn by the hunter to encourage the hounds.

verb phrase

1. 1. to ask; appeal to:

      They called on him to represent them.

   2. to visit for a short time:

      to call on friends.

2. 1. to request or pray for; invoke:

      to call down the wrath of God.

   2. to reprimand; scold:

      The boss called us down for lateness.

3. callback.
4. 1. to distract; take away:

      Please call off your dog.

   2. to cancel (something) that had been planned for a certain date:

      The performance was called off because of rain.

5. to summon into action; bring into existence:

   to call forth her courage and resolve.

6. to cause to leave or go; summon:

   A death in the family called him away.

7. call in ( def ).
8. 1. to go or come to get; pick up; fetch.
   2. to request; summon.
   3. to require; need:

      The occasion calls for a cool head.

9. 1. to bring forward for consideration or discussion.
   2. to cause to remember; evoke.
   3. to communicate or try to communicate with by telephone.
   4. to summon for action or service:

      A large number of Army reservists were called up.

   5. Computers. to summon (information) from a computer system for display on a screen:

      She called up the full text.

10. question ( def 17 ).
11. callout.

call

/ kɔːl /

verb

1. often foll by out to speak or utter (words, sounds, etc) loudly so as to attract attention

   he called out her name

2. tr to ask or order to come

   to call a policeman

3. intrsometimes foll byon to make a visit (to)

   she called on him

4. often foll by up to telephone (a person)

   he called back at nine

5. tr to summon to a specific office, profession, etc

   he was called to the ministry

6. (of animals or birds) to utter (a characteristic sound or cry)
7. tr to summon (a bird or animal) by imitating its cry
8. tr to name or style

   they called the dog Rover

9. tr to designate

   they called him a coward

10. dialect.
    tr to speak ill of or scold
11. tr to regard in a specific way

    I call it a foolish waste of time

12. tr to attract (attention)
13. tr to read (a list, register, etc) aloud to check for omissions or absentees
14. whentr, usually foll by for to give an order (for)

    to call a strike

15. intr to try to predict the result of tossing a coin
16. tr to awaken

    I was called early this morning

17. tr to cause to assemble

    to call a meeting

18. tr sport (of an umpire, referee, etc) to pass judgment upon (a shot, player, etc) with a call
19. tr to broadcast a commentary on (a horse race or other sporting event)
20. tr to demand repayment of (a loan, redeemable bond, security, etc)
21. troften foll byup accounting to demand payment of (a portion of a share issue not yet paid by subscribers)
22. tr to award (a student at an Inn of Court) the degree of barrister (esp in the phrase call to the bar )
23. tr computing to transfer control to (a named subprogram)
24. tr poker to demand that (a player) expose his hand, after equalling his bet
25. intr bridge to make a bid
26. (in square-dancing) to call out (instructions) to the dancers
27. billiards to ask (a player) to say what kind of shot he will play or (of a player) to name his shot
28. intrfoll byfor
    1. to require

       this problem calls for study

    2. to come or go (for) in order to fetch

       I will call for my book later

29. intr; foll by on or upon to make an appeal or request (to)

    they called upon him to reply

30. 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

31. call into being
    to create
32. call into play
    to begin to operate
33. call in question or call into question
    See question
34. call it a day
    to stop work or other activity
35. too close to call
    (of the outcome of a competition, election, match, etc) unable to be predicted
36. call to mind
    to remember or cause to be remembered

noun

1. a cry or shout
2. the characteristic cry of a bird or animal
3. a device, such as a whistle, intended to imitate the cry of a bird or animal
4. a summons or invitation
5. a summons or signal sounded on a horn, bugle, etc
6. hunting any of several notes or patterns of notes, blown on a hunting horn as a signal
7. hunting
   1. an imitation of the characteristic cry of a wild animal or bird to lure it to the hunter
   2. an instrument for producing such an imitation
8. a short visit

   the doctor made six calls this morning

9. an inner urge to some task or profession; vocation
10. allure or fascination, esp of a place

    the call of the forest

11. the summons to the bar of a student member of an Inn of Court
12. need, demand, or occasion

    there is no call to shout

    we don't get much call for stockings these days

13. demand or claim (esp in the phrase the call of duty )
14. theatre a notice to actors informing them of times of rehearsals
15. (in square dancing) an instruction to execute new figures
16. a conversation or a request for a connection by telephone
17. commerce
    1. a demand for repayment of a loan
    2. ( as modifier )

       call money

18. finance
    1. a demand for redeemable bonds or shares to be presented for repayment
    2. a demand for an instalment payment on the issue price of bonds or shares
19. billiards a demand to an opponent to say what kind of shot he will play
20. poker a demand for a hand or hands to be exposed
21. bridge a bid, or a player's turn to bid
22. a decision or judgment

    it's your call

23. sport a decision of an umpire or referee regarding a shot, pitch, etc
24. a broadcast commentary on a horse race or other sporting event
25. Also calledcall option stock exchange an option to buy a stated amount of securities at a specified price during a specified period Compare put
26. See roll call
27. call for margin
    stock exchange a demand made by a stockbroker for partial payment of a client's debt due to decreasing value of the collateral
28. call of nature
    See nature
29. on call
    1. (of a loan, etc) repayable on demand
    2. available to be called for work outside normal working hours
30. within call
    within range; accessible

Other Words From

• un·called adjective
• well-called adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of call¹

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English callen, cal(e), probably from Old Norse kalla “to call out, shout,” conflated with Old English ( West Saxon ) ceallian “to shout”; cognate with Middle Dutch kallen “to talk,” Old High German kallôn “to shout,” akin to Old English -calla “herald,” Irish gall “swan,” Old Church Slavonic glasŭ “voice”

Word History and Origins

Origin of call¹

Old English ceallian; related to Old Norse kalla, Old High German kallōn, Old Slavonic glasǔ voice

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on call,
   1. payable or subject to return without advance notice.
   2. readily available for summoning upon short notice.
2. take a call, to acknowledge the applause of the audience after a performance by appearing for a bow or a curtain call.
3. within call, within distance or range of being spoken to or summoned:

   Please stay within call.

4. call in sick. sick ¹( def 14 ).
5. call to order. order ( def 48 ).

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

Call, invite, summon imply requesting the presence or attendance of someone at a particular place. Call is the general word: to call a meeting. To invite is to ask someone courteously to come as a guest, a participant, etc., leaving the person free to refuse: to invite guests to a concert; to invite them to contribute to a fund. Summon implies sending for someone, using authority or formality in making the request and (theoretically) not leaving the person free to refuse: to summon a witness, members of a committee, etc.

Example Sentences

They say the proceeds from what they call the Waterman100 club — a nod to the number of members — could bankroll improvements that would benefit all visitors.

From Los Angeles Times

Only such organisations can call themselves academies and anyone using the FAW logo or branding to advertise a private setup will be asked to remove it.

From BBC

AJ: Our series is a historical marker, a cautionary tale and a call to action.

From Salon

She was on a Zoom call while waiting in an Austin parking lot to pick up her daughter from gymnastics class.

From Slate

To keep her son from disrupting the call, she gave him a tablet to use in the back seat.

From Slate

Related Words

• appeal
• invitation
• order
• plea
• proposal
• request
• visit