summon
Americanverb (used with object)
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summons,
present (3rd person singular)
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summoned,
past participle, past
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summoning
present participle
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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)
Synonym Usage
See call.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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summonsimple
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summonssimple
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have summonedperfect
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has summonedperfect
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am summoningprogressive
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are summoningprogressive
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is summoningprogressive
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have been summoningperfect progressive
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has been summoningperfect progressive
Past
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summonedsimple
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had summonedperfect
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was summoningprogressive
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were summoningprogressive
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had been summoningperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
To summon is to formally call for the presence of someone. If, as soccer team captain, you find that your team members are an hour late for the big game, you might need to summon them — and fast. Summon can also mean “gather up,” as one might summon one’s courage" before that big game. Summon is also occasionally used in reference to the supernatural, as when one tries to call forth a spirit or ghost. If you think the team needs additional help on the field, you might try to summon some supernatural backup.
Vocabulary lists containing summon
List 4
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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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.
See Examples For:
Captain Siya Kolisi has called on the Springboks to summon inspiration from Soweto's pivotal part in South Africa's history as they take on New Zealand on the edge of the Johannesburg township on Saturday.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
The cellmate “tried to press intercom again to summon help, and it just kept ringing and ringing.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
A legislature can summon everyone a rule will touch, balance competing interests and revise the law as the evidence turns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said he would summon Russia’s ambassador in France in the coming days.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
The poor women waited, Aethra with them, while he went to summon the assembly which would decide the misery or happiness of their dead children.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Others have received a summons for an interview in April next year.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
The following day, police sergeant Sidney Short served him with a summons.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026
He leaves the room commanding the staff to “Make. Me. Money” and summons the elevator by barking “Open!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
Issuing the summons against the four men last year, District Judge Stephen Leake said the EA alleged there had been "a deliberate plan by officers of the company to manipulate the OSM regime".
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
I take small, slow steps, for I am unwilling to obey this summons.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Russian ambassadors in Berlin, London, Paris, Brussels and other capitals have been summoned by their hosts for stern lectures.
From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026
She said she was summoned to a court hearing by police, but decided not to go because she feared officials wanted to use the meeting to extract a bribe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
Barrot and fellow ministers from Belgium and the Netherlands said they had summoned Russian ambassadors in protest at the attack.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Sweden also summoned the Russian ambassador in Stockholm over the incident, its Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a news conference, citing its allegiance to Germany and Ukraine.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
Many times in the past five years he’d wondered if he’d imagined the entire conversation with the mysterious woman the hospital chaplain had summoned.
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
A guard yelled into the common room, summoning Wilber during the early afternoon of June 26.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
His considerable height, lean frame and beard only added to the sense that, at least in spirit, Mr. Glass has succeeded in summoning the man he so clearly venerates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Meanwhile, when he was their age, young Giles, nicknamed Ripper, terrorized London by summoning hell spawn for fun.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026
India has also lodged a strong protest with Washington over the strike, summoning a senior US diplomat and calling for an end to attacks on commercial vessels in the region.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
The idea of summoning Gray scared him even more than Hazel’s horse.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
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.
