call in

[ kawl in ]

verb phrase

1. to call for payment; collect:

   The family struggled because her father was unwilling to call in the debts owed to him.

2. to call upon for consultation; ask for help:

   Management called in an independent engineering firm to determine the cause behind the roof collapse.

3. to inform, report, or request by telephone:

   The electric company will reward customers with a credit if they call in their own meter readings.

   Your doctor can call in the prescription to your local pharmacy.

4. to participate in a meeting or a radio or television program by telephone:

   The listeners who call in to my talk show about science ask the most intriguing questions.

5. to visit:

   We were instructed to call in to the office later to pay and complete the formal paperwork.

6. to withdraw from circulation:

   The country’s leader issued a proclamation calling in all gold coins and gold certificates.

noun

1. Radio and Television. a program in which listeners or viewers phone in comments or questions to the host or a person being interviewed.
2. Radio and Television. a live telephone conversation intended for broadcasting between a program's host and a person being interviewed.

adjective

1. Radio and Television. relating to or featuring such phone calls or conversations:

   My call-in program about gardening airs once a week on the local public radio station.

2. being or relating to a meeting, service, etc., that is accessed by telephone:

   The agenda will be sent out the morning of the meeting, along with all the call-in numbers needed.

   The grant funds a call-in hotline for low-income residents in the metro area.

call in

verb

1. introften foll byon to pay a visit, esp a brief or informal one

   call in if you are in the neighbourhood

2. tr to demand payment of

   to call in a loan

3. tr to take (something) out of circulation, because it is defective or no longer useful
4. tr to summon to one's assistance

   they had to call in a specialist

Word History and Origins

Origin of call in¹

First recorded in 1480–90

Example Sentences

During his call-in show, by the way, he casually admitted that they were, in fact, Russian soldiers.

From The Daily Beast

Then a call-in card was sent to him—this was a message card by mail 5-3-63.

From Project Gutenberg

I lay in bed and listened to a late-night call-in radio show.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• ask
• assemble
• call
• call for
• convene
• direct
• draft
• gather
• invite
• mobilize
• recall
• request
• subpoena