call-up
noun
an order to report for active military service.
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call-up
American
[kawl-uhp]
/ ˈkɔlˌʌp /
noun
call-ups
plural
-
an order to report for active military service.
-
the number of persons drafted during a specific period of time.
The November call-up was set at 15,000.
-
a call or urging to service.
call up
British
verb
-
to summon to report for active military service, as in time of war
-
(tr) to recall (something); evoke
his words called up old memories
-
(tr) to bring or summon (people, etc) into action
to call up reinforcements
-
to telephone
noun
call up
Idioms
-
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]
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Retrieve data from a computer memory, as in I asked him to call up the last quarter's sales figures . [Second half of 1900s]
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of call-up
First recorded in 1625–35; noun use of verb phrase call up
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.
See Examples For:
Langton was a late call-up to Team England in the place of the injured six-time Olympic medallist Max Whitlock.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
None of them is a full-time MLB umpire but rather a minor-league call-up tapped only when needed, yet they are faring better with ABS than their more established peers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
However, that plan had to be scrapped when the 27-year-old received a late call-up to Carlo Ancelotti's World Cup squad.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
That came in the spring of 2025, about 11 months after his dad had been sacked as coach, when Pochettino, the new manager, gave the younger Berhalter his first national team call-up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
When she and I were sitting in our bedroom, Margot told me that the call-up was not for Father, but for her.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
When the conversation shifts to an unfamiliar book or article, for instance, Abbaraju will call up an AI summary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
He made just eight appearances, failing to score, so to return at the level he has this season - and earn a maiden Brazil call up - is a testament to his quality and self-belief.
From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2026
In one example, users of the new phones can press the side button to call up an Uber ride, entering the destination by voice or text.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026
That foundational constitutional authority in turn supports Title 10 USC 12406, which allows a president to call up the militia — but only under specific, statutorily defined circumstances.
From Salon ● Nov. 17, 2025
Every few hours she’d call up the boat company but there was still no news.
From "Homesick" by Jean Fritz
The T20 squads are the same as for the World Cup, while wicketkeeper Kira Chathli and all-rounder Jodi Grewcock earn their first call-ups for the one-day internationals against the White Ferns.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
Among those to receive their first senior call-ups to the squad were defenders Anouk Denton, Taylor Hinds and forward Freya Godfrey.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
And some have suggested that Sheinbaum’s save-the-day call-ups of her media-savvy security chief are more performative than substantive, and probably counterproductive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 29, 2025
The initial high number of call-ups among reservists has decreased throughout the war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
There were also call-ups for uncapped 19-year-olds Edoardo Todaro, a centre with Northampton, and Enoch Opoku Gyamfi, a lock currently on Bath's books.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2025
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.
