call-up

[kawl-uhp]

noun

1. an order to report for active military service.

2. the number of persons drafted during a specific period of time.

   The November call-up was set at 15,000.

3. a call or urging to service.

call up

verb

1. to summon to report for active military service, as in time of war

2. (tr) to recall (something); evoke

   his words called up old memories

3. (tr) to bring or summon (people, etc) into action

   to call up reinforcements

4. to telephone

noun

1. 1. a general order to report for military service

   2. the number of men so summoned

Word History and Origins

Origin of call up¹

First recorded in 1625–35; noun use of verb phrase call up

Idioms and Phrases

Summon to military service, as in He was called up for active duty . [Late 1600s]

Cause to remember, bring to mind, as in These stories call up old times . [c. 1700] Also see call to mind .

Telephone someone, as in I'll call up the theater and find out about tickets . [Late 1800s]

Retrieve data from a computer memory, as in I asked him to call up the last quarter's sales figures . [Second half of 1900s]

Related Words

• admit 
• appoint 
• assign 
• attract 
• conscript 
• employ 
• engage 
• enroll 
• enter 
• gather 
• hire 
• join 
• mobilize 
• recruit 
• serve 
• volunteer