call on

1. Make a request, ask for, choose, as in We are calling upon you to run for chairman , or The teacher called on Joe to answer . [c. 1400]

2. Pay a brief visit, as in The salesman said he'd call on me in the morning . Shakespeare had this usage in Antony and Cleopatra (1:4): “I'll call upon you ere you go to bed.” [Late 1500s]

Idioms and Phrases

Also, call upon .

Related Words

• ban
• contradict
• oppose
• rebuff
• refuse
• refute
• reject
• revoke
• turn down
• withhold