call out
Britishverb
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to utter aloud, esp loudly
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(tr) to summon
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(tr) to order (workers) to strike
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(tr) to summon (an employee) to work at a time outside his normal working hours, usually in an emergency
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(tr) to challenge to a duel
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Summon into action or service, as in The governor called out the militia . [Mid-1400s]
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Challenge to a fight, as in To avenge the insult, Arthur called him out . This term originated with dueling and is dying out. [Early 1800s]
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.
Eventually, once the real reason customers aren’t returning has been revealed, Lofaso will “storm in to shake things up, call out the chaos and whip these teams into shape.”
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
British hygiene brand Dettol has apologised for an advert in China that it claims was meant to call out sexism, but has instead backfired.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
“It gets to the point where I sometimes call out the RMD being a bigger bomb when it hits,” he says.
From Barron's ● Jun. 13, 2026
Like it or not, Colbert was doing what comedians are supposed to do: hold a mirror up to society, politics, human nature or whatever their focus may be, and call out the absurdities within.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
And I would call out names until I heard her delighted, “Yes!”
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
