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call number

See more synonyms for call number on Thesaurus.com
noun Library Science.
  1. a number, letter, symbol, or combination of these, indicating the specific location of a work in a library, especially the combination of the classification symbol and the designation for the author.
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Origin of call number

An Americanism dating back to 1875–80
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for call number

Historical Examples

  • Charge slips are deposited temporarily in a drawer, and next morning are arranged by call-number and filed in the charging tray.

  • Put on every card in the catalog the call-number of the book to which it refers.

    A Library Primer

    John Cotton Dana

  • On this book-card, at the top, write the call-number of the book in the pocket of which it is placed.

    A Library Primer

    John Cotton Dana

  • On this pocket, at the top, write the call-number of the book.

    A Library Primer

    John Cotton Dana

  • This call-number should be written with ink on the pocket and book slip, which is kept in the pocket, or on the book-plate.

    A Library Primer

    John Cotton Dana

British Dictionary definitions for call number

call number

noun
  1. the number given to a book in a library, indicating its shelf locationAlso called: call mark
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012