call
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cry out in a loud voice; shout.
He called her name to see if she was home.
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to command or request to come; summon.
to call a dog;
to call a cab;
to call a witness.
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to ask or invite to come.
Will you call the family to dinner?
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to communicate or try to communicate with by telephone.
Call me when you arrive.
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to rouse from sleep, as by a call; waken.
Call me at eight o'clock.
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to read over (a roll or a list) in a loud voice.
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to convoke or convene.
We will now call Congress into session.
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to announce authoritatively; proclaim.
The company called a halt to production of their latest line after many items failed quality checks.
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to order into effect; decree.
The union is planning to call a strike late this year.
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to schedule.
The director should call one more rehearsal before opening night.
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to summon by or as if by divine command.
He felt called to the ministry.
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to summon to an office, duty, etc..
His country called him to service during the Korean War.
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to cause to come; bring.
to call to mind;
to call into existence.
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to bring under consideration or discussion.
The judge called the case to court.
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to attract or lure (birds or animals) by imitating characteristic sounds.
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to direct or attract (attention).
He called his roommate's attention to the mess.
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to name or address (someone) as.
His parents named him James, but the boys call him Jim.
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to designate as something specified.
He called me a liar.
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to think of as something specified; consider; estimate.
I call that a mean remark.
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to demand of (someone) that they fulfill a promise, furnish evidence for a statement, etc..
They called him on his story.
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to criticize adversely; express disapproval of; censure.
She called him on his vulgar language.
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to demand payment or fulfillment of (a loan).
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to demand presentation of (bonds) for redemption.
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to forecast correctly.
He has called the outcome of the last three elections.
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Sports. (of an official)
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to pronounce a judgment on (a shot, pitch, batter, etc.).
The umpire called the pitch a strike.
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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.
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Pool. to name (the ball) one intends to drive into a particular pocket.
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Computers. to invoke (a subroutine or procedure) in a computer program.
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Cards.
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to demand (a card).
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to demand the display of a hand by (a player).
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Poker. to equal (a bet) or equal the bet made by (the preceding bettor) in a round.
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Bridge. to signal one's partner for a lead of (a certain card or suit).
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verb (used without object)
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to speak loudly, as to attract attention; shout; cry.
She called to the children.
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to telephone or try to telephone a person.
He promised to call at noon.
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to make a short visit; stop at a place on some errand or business.
She called at the store for the package.
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Cards.
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to demand a card.
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to demand a showing of hands.
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Poker. to equal a bet.
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Bridge. to bid or pass.
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(of a bird or animal) to utter its characteristic cry.
noun
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a cry or shout.
She gave a call across the lawn to her friend.
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the cry or vocal sound of a bird or other animal.
A crow's call sounds different from a raven's.
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an instrument for imitating this cry and attracting or luring an animal.
He bought a duck call.
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an act or instance of telephoning.
She returned his call as soon as her meeting was over.
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a short visit.
to make a call on someone.
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a summons or signal sounded by a bugle, bell, etc..
We live so close to the fort that we can hear the bugle calls.
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a summons, invitation, or bidding.
The students gathered at the call of the dean.
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a calling of a roll; roll call.
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the fascination or appeal of a given place, vocation, etc..
the call of the sea.
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a mystic experience of divine appointment to a vocation or service.
He had a call to become a minister.
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a request or invitation to become pastor of a church, a professor in a university, etc.
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a need or occasion.
He had no call to say such outrageous things.
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a demand or claim.
to make a call on a person's time.
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a demand for payment of an obligation, especially where payment is at the option of the creditor.
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Cards.
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a demand for a card or a showing of hands.
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Poker. an equaling of the preceding bet.
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Bridge. a bid or pass.
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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.
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Theater.
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a notice of rehearsal posted by the stage manager.
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Dance. a figure or direction in square dancing, announced to the dancers by the caller.
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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.
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Fox Hunting. any of several cries, or sounds made on a horn by the hunter to encourage the hounds.
verb phrase
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call on / upon
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to ask; appeal to.
They called on him to represent them.
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to visit for a short time.
to call on friends.
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call down
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to request or pray for; invoke.
to call down the wrath of God.
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to reprimand; scold.
The boss called us down for lateness.
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call back. callback.
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call off
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to distract; take away.
Please call off your dog.
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to cancel (something) that had been planned for a certain date.
The performance was called off because of rain.
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call forth to summon into action; bring into existence.
to call forth her courage and resolve.
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call away to cause to leave or go; summon.
A death in the family called him away.
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call in. call in.
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call for
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call up
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to bring forward for consideration or discussion.
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to cause to remember; evoke.
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to communicate or try to communicate with by telephone.
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to summon for action or service.
A large number of Army reservists were called up.
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Computers. to summon (information) from a computer system for display on a screen.
She called up the full text.
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call in / into question. question.
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call out. callout.
idioms
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call to order. order.
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take a call, to acknowledge the applause of the audience after a performance by appearing for a bow or a curtain call.
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call in sick. sick.
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on call,
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payable or subject to return without advance notice.
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readily available for summoning upon short notice.
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within call, within distance or range of being spoken to or summoned.
Please stay within call.
verb
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(often foll by out) to speak or utter (words, sounds, etc) loudly so as to attract attention
he called out her name
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(tr) to ask or order to come
to call a policeman
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to make a visit (to)
she called on him
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(often foll by up) to telephone (a person)
he called back at nine
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(tr) to summon to a specific office, profession, etc
he was called to the ministry
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(of animals or birds) to utter (a characteristic sound or cry)
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(tr) to summon (a bird or animal) by imitating its cry
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(tr) to name or style
they called the dog Rover
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(tr) to designate
they called him a coward
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dialect (tr) to speak ill of or scold
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(tr) to regard in a specific way
I call it a foolish waste of time
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(tr) to attract (attention)
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(tr) to read (a list, register, etc) aloud to check for omissions or absentees
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to give an order (for)
to call a strike
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(intr) to try to predict the result of tossing a coin
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(tr) to awaken
I was called early this morning
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(tr) to cause to assemble
to call a meeting
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(tr) sport (of an umpire, referee, etc) to pass judgment upon (a shot, player, etc) with a call
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(tr) to broadcast a commentary on (a horse race or other sporting event)
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(tr) to demand repayment of (a loan, redeemable bond, security, etc)
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accounting to demand payment of (a portion of a share issue not yet paid by subscribers)
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(tr) to award (a student at an Inn of Court) the degree of barrister (esp in the phrase call to the bar )
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(tr) computing to transfer control to (a named subprogram)
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(tr) poker to demand that (a player) expose his hand, after equalling his bet
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(intr) bridge to make a bid
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(in square-dancing) to call out (instructions) to the dancers
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billiards to ask (a player) to say what kind of shot he will play or (of a player) to name his shot
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to require
this problem calls for study
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to come or go (for) in order to fetch
I will call for my book later
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(intr; foll by on or upon) to make an appeal or request (to)
they called upon him to reply
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(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
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to create
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to begin to operate
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See question
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to stop work or other activity
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(of the outcome of a competition, election, match, etc) unable to be predicted
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to remember or cause to be remembered
noun
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a cry or shout
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the characteristic cry of a bird or animal
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a device, such as a whistle, intended to imitate the cry of a bird or animal
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a summons or invitation
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a summons or signal sounded on a horn, bugle, etc
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hunting any of several notes or patterns of notes, blown on a hunting horn as a signal
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hunting
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an imitation of the characteristic cry of a wild animal or bird to lure it to the hunter
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an instrument for producing such an imitation
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a short visit
the doctor made six calls this morning
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an inner urge to some task or profession; vocation
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allure or fascination, esp of a place
the call of the forest
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the summons to the bar of a student member of an Inn of Court
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need, demand, or occasion
there is no call to shout
we don't get much call for stockings these days
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demand or claim (esp in the phrase the call of duty )
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theatre a notice to actors informing them of times of rehearsals
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(in square dancing) an instruction to execute new figures
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a conversation or a request for a connection by telephone
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commerce
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a demand for repayment of a loan
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( as modifier )
call money
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finance
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a demand for redeemable bonds or shares to be presented for repayment
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a demand for an instalment payment on the issue price of bonds or shares
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billiards a demand to an opponent to say what kind of shot he will play
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poker a demand for a hand or hands to be exposed
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bridge a bid, or a player's turn to bid
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a decision or judgment
it's your call
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sport a decision of an umpire or referee regarding a shot, pitch, etc
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a broadcast commentary on a horse race or other sporting event
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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
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See roll call
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stock exchange a demand made by a stockbroker for partial payment of a client's debt due to decreasing value of the collateral
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See nature
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(of a loan, etc) repayable on demand
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available to be called for work outside normal working hours
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within range; accessible
Related Words
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.
Other Word Forms
- uncalled adjective
- well-called adjective
Etymology
Origin of call
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”
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.
Then Magyar stunned Hungarians with a live appearance on a pro-opposition YouTube Channel called Partizán.
From BBC
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente called the chants "intolerable" and said "violent people use football to carve out a space for themselves".
From BBC
This has shifted repeatedly, from initial calls for an "unconditional" Iranian surrender to a potential negotiated agreement.
From BBC
McCartney and Willis' proposed site is in an area at Roshven on a rocky headland called Commando Rock which historically was used for military training.
From BBC
As beautiful as this book is, worthy of the finest coffee table, it would be a mistake to call it a hagiography.
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.
