call for
Idioms-
Go to get someone or something, as in John said he'd call for Mary at eight , or Someone's at the door, calling for the package . [First half of 1600s]
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Summon someone or something. For example, The audience called for the playwright , or The judge called for the verdict . [First half of 1500s]
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Require, demand, as in This job calls for a lot of patience . [First half of 1700s] Also see no call for ; uncalled for .
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.
Chinese companies recently released powerful artificial-intelligence models, prompting some U.S. executives to call for protections from lower-cost Chinese rivals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Residents are also given a number to call for complaints such as a noise.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
In neighbouring Bangladesh, students gave a call for a "torch rally" on Thursday evening to express their solidarity for protesters in Delhi.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
All of these recipes call for store-bought chicken stock but, of course, you can use homemade stock, too.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
He nudged Rick over to his parked, plainly marked police car; there, by police radio, he put in a call for someone to come pick up Polokov.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
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.
