call down
Britishverb
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Invoke, as from heaven; for example, He called down the wrath of God . [Early 1800s]
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call someone down . Scold or reprimand, as in The conductor called her down for playing out of tune . [Mid-1800s] For a synonym, see dress down , def. 1.
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.
"The ambulance didn't go to the address because the emergency medical advisor, thinking it was an abandoned call, closed the call down," Mrs Jevons said.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2025
“So I freaked and I call down the front desk, I go, ‘You gotta call 911!’”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2024
But those usually had relatively evident functions: to call down the favor of a god, or to assert a noble pedigree, or to show off a new wife.
From New York Times ● Mar. 1, 2023
Among Griffis’ many memorable revelations about the Land of the Rising Sun is a proverb about the perils of revenge: “If you call down a curse on anyone, look out for two graves.”
From Washington Times ● Jan. 24, 2023
“I think we’d better give those boys a call down at Cape Canaveral,” Roy Lee said.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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.
