summon
Americanverb (used with object)
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to call upon to do something specified.
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to call for the presence of, as by command, message, or signal; call.
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to call or notify to appear at a specified place, especially before a court.
to summon a defendant.
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to authorize or order a gathering of; call together by authority, as for deliberation or action.
to summon parliament.
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to call into action; rouse; call forth (often. followed byup ).
to summon all one's courage.
verb
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to order to come; send for, esp to attend court, by issuing a summons
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to order or instruct (to do something) or call (to something)
the bell summoned them to their work
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to call upon to meet or convene
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(often foll by up) to muster or gather (one's strength, courage, etc)
Related Words
See call.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of summon
First recorded in 1175–1225; from Medieval Latin summonēre “to summon,” Latin: “to remind unofficially, suggest,” equivalent to sum- sum- + monēre “to remind, warn”; replacing Middle English somonen, from Old French semondre, somondre, from unattested Vulgar Latin summonere, Latin summonēre, as above
Explanation
To summon is to formally call for the presence of someone. If, as soccer team captain, you find that your team members are an hour late for the big game, you might need to summon them — and fast. Summon can also mean “gather up,” as one might summon one’s courage" before that big game. Summon is also occasionally used in reference to the supernatural, as when one tries to call forth a spirit or ghost. If you think the team needs additional help on the field, you might try to summon some supernatural backup.
Vocabulary lists containing summon
List 4
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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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.
Adam Silverman’s lighting turns red; cracks appear in the floor of Jon Bausor’s set as Catrina pounds on it with her parasol to summon Frida; and dancers dressed as skeletons emerge from the crevices.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
The question remains whether we as a people can summon the political will to make the needed changes — or any.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 18, 2026
“From the beginning, the conceit was to summon all the types of experiences of Blackness in one place, the project being a vessel or container for all of that expression,” Halsey says.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
By that afternoon, a parliamentary committee had unanimously voted to summon the CEO "to come and explain himself".
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
“Supposedly Diocletian’s scepter could summon the ghosts of the Roman legions, any of them who worshipped the old gods.”
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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.
