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.
It was thanks in significant part to Cowell that we came to have the genre we call world music.
From Los Angeles Times
“Kuang. Your father wants to talk to you. Can you call us back?”
From Salon
Felix's prediction: This is the only game I am going to call totally from my heart and not my head.
From BBC
The FDA official also called for different endpoints in clinical trials for vaccines.
From MarketWatch
And worries about the credit picture have weighed on Oracle’s stock, she added, which could prompt management to give more details on funding plans on the next earnings call.
From MarketWatch
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.
