to cry out in a loud voice; shout: He called her name to see if she was home.
to command or request to come; summon: to call a dog; to call a cab;to call a witness.
to ask or invite to come: Will you call the family to dinner?
to communicate or try to communicate with by telephone: Call me when you arrive.
to rouse from sleep, as by a call; waken: Call me at eight o'clock.
to read over (a roll or a list) in a loud voice.
to convoke or convene: to call Congress into session.
to announce authoritatively; proclaim: to call a halt.
to order into effect; decree: to call a strike.
to schedule: to call a rehearsal.
to summon by or as if by divine command: He felt called to the ministry.
to summon to an office, duty, etc.: His country called him to service during the Korean War.
to cause to come; bring: to call to mind;to call into existence.
to bring under consideration or discussion: The judge called the case to court.
to attract or lure (birds or animals) by imitating characteristic sounds.
to direct or attract (attention): He called his roommate's attention to the mess.
to name or address (someone) as: His parents named him James, but the boys call him Jim.
to designate as something specified: He called me a liar.
to think of as something specified; consider; estimate: I call that a mean remark.
to demand of (someone) that he or she fulfill a promise, furnish evidence for a statement, etc.: They called him on his story.
to criticize adversely; express disapproval of; censure: She called him on his vulgar language.
to demand payment or fulfillment of (a loan).
to demand presentation of (bonds) for redemption.
to forecast correctly: He has called the outcome of the last three elections.
Sports. (of an official)
to pronounce a judgment on (a shot, pitch, batter, etc.): The umpire called the pitch a strike.
to put an end to (a contest) because of inclement weather, poor field conditions, etc.: A sudden downpour forced the umpire to call the game.
Pool. to name (the ball) one intends to drive into a particular pocket.
Computers. to invoke (a subroutine or procedure) in a computer program.
Cards.
to demand (a card).
to demand the display of a hand by (a player).
Poker.to equal (a bet) or equal the bet made by (the preceding bettor) in a round.
Bridge.to signal one's partner for a lead of (a certain card or suit).
verb (used without object)
to speak loudly, as to attract attention; shout; cry: She called to the children.
to make a short visit; stop at a place on some errand or business: She called at the store for the package.
to telephone or try to telephone a person: He promised to call at noon.
Cards.
to demand a card.
to demand a showing of hands.
Poker.to equal a bet.
Bridge.to bid or pass.
(of a bird or animal) to utter its characteristic cry.
noun
a cry or shout.
the cry or vocal sound of a bird or other animal.
an instrument for imitating this cry and attracting or luring an animal: He bought a duck call.
an act or instance of telephoning: She returned his call as soon as her meeting was over.
a short visit: to make a call on someone.
a summons or signal sounded by a bugle, bell, etc.: We live so close to the fort that we can hear the bugle calls.
a summons, invitation, or bidding: The students gathered at the call of the dean.
a calling of a roll; roll call.
the fascination or appeal of a given place, vocation, etc.: the call of the sea.
a mystic experience of divine appointment to a vocation or service: He had a call to become a minister.
a request or invitation to become pastor of a church, a professor in a university, etc.
a need or occasion: He had no call to say such outrageous things.
a demand or claim: to make a call on a person's time.
a demand for payment of an obligation, especially where payment is at the option of the creditor.
Cards.
a demand for a card or a showing of hands.
Poker.an equaling of the preceding bet.
Bridge.a bid or pass.
Sports. a judgment or decision by an umpire, a referee, or other official of a contest, as on a shot, pitch, or batter: The referees were making one bad call after another.
Theater.
a notice of rehearsal posted by the stage manager.
act call.
curtain call.
Dance. a figure or direction in square dancing, announced to the dancers by the caller.
Also called call option .Finance. an option that gives the right to buy a fixed amount of a particular stock at a predetermined price within a given period of time, purchased by a person who believes the price will rise.Compare put (def. 24).
Fox Hunting. any of several cries, or sounds made on a horn by the hunter to encourage the hounds.
Verb Phrases
call away,to cause to leave or go; summon: A death in the family called him away.
call back,
to summon or bring back; recall: He called back the messenger.The actor was called back for a second audition.
to revoke; retract: to call back an accusation.
call down,
to request or pray for; invoke: to call down the wrath of God.
to reprimand; scold: The boss called us down for lateness.
call for,
to go or come to get; pick up; fetch.
to request; summon.
to require; need: The occasion calls for a cool head.
call forth,to summon into action; bring into existence: to call forth her courage and resolve.
call in,
to call for payment; collect.
to withdraw from circulation: to call in gold certificates.
to call upon for consultation; ask for help: Two specialists were called in to assist in the operation.
to inform or report by telephone: Did he call in his decision this morning?
to participate in a radio or television program by telephone.
call in / into questionquestion (def. 17).
call off,
to distract; take away: Please call off your dog.
to cancel (something) that had been planned for a certain date: The performance was called off because of rain.
call on / upon
to ask; appeal to: They called on him to represent them.
to visit for a short time: to call on friends.
call out.See entry at callout.
call up,
to bring forward for consideration or discussion.
to cause to remember; evoke.
to communicate or try to communicate with by telephone.
to summon for action or service: A large number of Army reservists were called up.
Computers.to summon (information) from a computer system for display on a screen: She called up the full text.
Idioms for call
call in sick. sick1 (def. 15).
call to order. order (def. 48).
on call,
payable or subject to return without advance notice.
readily available for summoning upon short notice.
take a call, to acknowledge the applause of the audience after a performance by appearing for a bow or a curtain call.
within call, within distance or range of being spoken to or summoned: Please stay within call.
Origin of call
First recorded in 1200–50; late Middle English callen, probably from Old Norse kalla “to call out,” conflated with Old English (West Saxon ) ceallian “to shout”; cognate with Middle Dutch kallen “to talk,” Old High German kallôn “to shout,” akin to Old English -calla “herald,” Irish gall “swan,” Old Church Slavonic glasŭ “voice”
synonym study for call
2, 3, 12. Call,invite,summon imply requesting the presence or attendance of someone at a particular place. Call is the general word: to call a meeting. To invite is to ask someone courteously to come as a guest, a participant, etc., leaving the person free to refuse: to invite guests to a concert; to invite them to contribute to a fund.Summon implies sending for someone, using authority or formality in making the request and (theoretically) not leaving the person free to refuse: to summon a witness, members of a committee, etc.
OTHER WORDS FROM call
un·called,adjectivewell-called,adjective
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH call
call , caul, cull
Words nearby call
Calixtus II, Calixtus III, calk, calker, calkin, call, calla, callable, Callaghan, call a halt, callais
Note: UNICOR uses its inmates for everything from call center operators to human demolishers of old computers.
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This is the Mexico that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and most major U.S. corporations, are eager to call amigo.
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Al Qaeda has never managed to carve out a large chunk of real estate to call its own—in Afghanistan it was a guest of the Taliban.
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Who else would see a former spouse accused of underage sex and call him ‘the greatest man there is’?
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“Call me when the plane leaves the ground,” she said, in a tone that implied she knew her husband well.
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You may call it sentimentality or any other nickname you like.
The Woman in Black|Edmund Clerihew Bentley
The next time I went out with apples, two sheep came to my call.
The Nursery, August 1873, Vol. XIV. No. 2|Various
Sometimes an umpire who has been good will go into a long slump when he cannot call things right and knows it.
Pitching in a Pinch|Christy Mathewson
He will be at church this afternoon; so, suppose you call here at nine this evening.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 83, September, 1864|Various
For a man to call himself a Christian Evolutionist is (we have been told by high Orthodox authority) a contradiction in terms.
The Arena|Various
British Dictionary definitions for call
call
/ (kɔːl) /
verb
(often foll by out)to speak or utter (words, sounds, etc) loudly so as to attract attentionhe called out her name
(tr)to ask or order to cometo call a policeman
(intr sometimes foll by on) to make a visit (to)she called on him
(often foll by up)to telephone (a person)he called back at nine
(tr)to summon to a specific office, profession, etche was called to the ministry
(of animals or birds) to utter (a characteristic sound or cry)
(tr)to summon (a bird or animal) by imitating its cry
(tr)to name or stylethey called the dog Rover
(tr)to designatethey called him a coward
(tr)Britishdialectto speak ill of or scold
(tr)to regard in a specific wayI call it a foolish waste of time
(tr)to attract (attention)
(tr)to read (a list, register, etc) aloud to check for omissions or absentees
(when tr, usually foll by for) to give an order (for)to call a strike
(intr)to try to predict the result of tossing a coin
(tr)to awakenI was called early this morning
(tr)to cause to assembleto call a meeting
(tr)sport(of an umpire, referee, etc) to pass judgment upon (a shot, player, etc) with a call
(tr)Australian and NZto broadcast a commentary on (a horse race or other sporting event)
(tr)to demand repayment of (a loan, redeemable bond, security, etc)
(tr often foll by up) accountingto demand payment of (a portion of a share issue not yet paid by subscribers)
(tr)Britishto award (a student at an Inn of Court) the degree of barrister (esp in the phrase call to the bar)
(tr)computingto transfer control to (a named subprogram)
(tr)pokerto demand that (a player) expose his hand, after equalling his bet
(intr)bridgeto make a bid
(in square-dancing) to call out (instructions) to the dancers
billiardsto ask (a player) to say what kind of shot he will play or (of a player) to name his shot
(intr foll by for)
to requirethis problem calls for study
to come or go (for) in order to fetchI will call for my book later
(intr; foll by on or upon)to make an appeal or request (to)they called upon him to reply
(tr)to predict the outcome of an eventwe don't know yet if the plan has succeeded because it's too soon to call
call into beingto create
call into playto begin to operate
call in questionorcall into question See question (def. 12)
call it a dayto stop work or other activity
too close to call(of the outcome of a competition, election, match, etc) unable to be predicted
call to mindto remember or cause to be remembered
noun
a cry or shout
the characteristic cry of a bird or animal
a device, such as a whistle, intended to imitate the cry of a bird or animal
a summons or invitation
a summons or signal sounded on a horn, bugle, etc
huntingany of several notes or patterns of notes, blown on a hunting horn as a signal
hunting
an imitation of the characteristic cry of a wild animal or bird to lure it to the hunter
an instrument for producing such an imitation
a short visitthe doctor made six calls this morning
an inner urge to some task or profession; vocation
allure or fascination, esp of a placethe call of the forest
Britishthe summons to the bar of a student member of an Inn of Court
need, demand, or occasionthere is no call to shout; we don't get much call for stockings these days
demand or claim (esp in the phrase the call of duty)
theatrea notice to actors informing them of times of rehearsals
(in square dancing) an instruction to execute new figures
a conversation or a request for a connection by telephone
commerce
a demand for repayment of a loan
(as modifier)call money
finance
a demand for redeemable bonds or shares to be presented for repayment
a demand for an instalment payment on the issue price of bonds or shares
billiardsa demand to an opponent to say what kind of shot he will play
pokera demand for a hand or hands to be exposed
bridgea bid, or a player's turn to bid
a decision or judgmentit's your call
sporta decision of an umpire or referee regarding a shot, pitch, etc
Australiana broadcast commentary on a horse race or other sporting event
Also called: call optionstock exchangean option to buy a stated amount of securities at a specified price during a specified periodCompare put (def. 20)
See roll call
call for marginstock exchangea demand made by a stockbroker for partial payment of a client's debt due to decreasing value of the collateral
call of nature See nature (def. 16)
on call
(of a loan, etc) repayable on demand
available to be called for work outside normal working hours
within callwithin range; accessible
See also call down, call forth, call in, call off, call out, call up
Word Origin for call
Old English ceallian; related to Old Norse kalla, Old High German kallōn, Old Slavonic glasǔ voice