summon
Americanverb (used with object)
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to call upon to do something specified.
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to call for the presence of, as by command, message, or signal; call.
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to call or notify to appear at a specified place, especially before a court.
to summon a defendant.
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to authorize or order a gathering of; call together by authority, as for deliberation or action.
to summon parliament.
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to call into action; rouse; call forth (often. followed byup ).
to summon all one's courage.
verb
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to order to come; send for, esp to attend court, by issuing a summons
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to order or instruct (to do something) or call (to something)
the bell summoned them to their work
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to call upon to meet or convene
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(often foll by up) to muster or gather (one's strength, courage, etc)
Related Words
See call.
Other Word Forms
- resummon verb (used with object)
- summonable adjective
- summoner noun
- unsummonable adjective
Etymology
Origin of summon
First recorded in 1175–1225; from Medieval Latin summonēre “to summon,” Latin: “to remind unofficially, suggest,” equivalent to sum- sum- + monēre “to remind, warn”; replacing Middle English somonen, from Old French semondre, somondre, from unattested Vulgar Latin summonere, Latin summonēre, as above
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mike Rapanaro felt like he had been summoned by the sitcom gods.
By that afternoon, a parliamentary committee had unanimously voted to summon the CEO "to come and explain himself".
From BBC
Indonesia began enforcing a social media ban for users under the age of 16 on Saturday, and has already issued summons letters to Google and Meta over their failure to comply with the law.
From Barron's
Indonesia issued summons letters to Google and Meta over their failure to comply with a social media ban for under-16s that entered into force over the weekend, the communications minister said.
From Barron's
Reappearing as if summoned, Sarah pushed a rolling cart up to her side of the window.
From Literature
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.
