call

present singular third person calls · participle present calling · participle past called · past called · archaic participle past call'd · archaic past call'd · first person past singular called · archaic present second person singular callest · past second person singular called · archaic past second person singular calledst · present singular third person calls · archaic present singular third person calleth · past singular third person called · past plural called · past subjunctive called · participle present calling

1. To reach out with one's voice.
   1. intransitiveheadingTo request, summon, or beckon.

      That person is hurt; call for help!

      1 more example

      So they called for Rooms; and he ſhewed them one for Christiana and her Children and Mercy, and another for Mr. Great-heart and the old Gentleman.

      1684, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress. From This World to That which is to Come: The Second Part. […], London: […] Nathaniel Ponder […], →OCLC; reprinted in The Pilgrim’s Progress as Originally Published by John Bunyan: Being a Fac-simile Reproduction of the First Edition, London: Elliot Stock […], 1875, →OCLC, page 128

   2. intransitiveheadingTo cry or shout.

      "Supper's ready," called Dad from the kitchen.

      2 more examples

      If you heare a child crie in the night you must call to the nurſe and bid her ſtil it.

      1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, Much Adoe about Nothing. […], quarto edition, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]

      For far—oh, very far behind, / So far she cannot call to him, / Comes Tegumai alone to find / The daughter that was all to him!

      1902, Rudyard Kipling, “How the Alphabet was Made”, in Just So Stories: For Little Children, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, →OCLC, stanza 5, page 169

      Synonyms: holler, yell, cry, holler, halloo, roar, howl, roop

   3. transitiveheadingTo utter in a loud or distinct voice.

      to call the roll of a military company

      1 more example

      Not ballad-ſinger plac'd above the croud, / Sings with a note ſo ſhrilling ſweet and loud, / Nor pariſh clerk who calls the pſalm ſo clear, / Like Bowzybeus ſooths th' attentive ear.

      1714, J[ohn] Gay, “Saturday; or, The Flights”, in The Shepherd’s Week. In Six Pastorals, London: […] R. Burleigh […], →OCLC, page 56, lines 47–50

   4. ambitransitiveheadingTo contact by telephone.

      Why don’t you call tomorrow?

      2 more examples

      Why don’t you call me in the morning?

      There they waited until after eleven, then Paulvitch took down the receiver of their telephone. He called a number.

      1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 41

      Synonyms: drop a line, ring, get on the horn, give someone a ring, give someone a bell, telephone, call up, dial up

   5. transitiveheadingTo rouse from sleep; to awaken.

      Take not away the Taper, leaue it burning: / And if thou canſt awake by foure o’th’clock, / I prythee call me: Sleepe hath ceiz’d me wholly.

      1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], page 376, column 2

      Synonyms: wake up, arouse, awake, awaken, bring round, cry, knock up, rouse

   6. transitivejazzheadingTo request that one's band play (a particular tune).

      They called I Got Rhythm, and turned to me again for a solo, and I said what?

      1997, Saxophone Journal

      2 more examples

      Jeff Castleman and Rufus Jones were in position when they went out, and he immediately called Satin Doll.

      2002, Ken Vail, Duke's Diary

      I thought he forgot all about it, but late in the set he called St. Louis Blues.

      2015, Clyde E. B. Bernhardt, I Remember: Eighty Years of Black Entertainment, Big Bands, and the Blues, University of Pennsylvania Press, →ISBN, page 98

   7. YorkshiretransitiveheadingTo scold.

      CALL 1 scold

      1865, William Stott Banks, Wakefield Words, page 11

2. To visit.
   1. intransitiveheadingTo pay a (social) visit (often used with "on", "round", or "at"; used by salespeople with "again" to invite customers to come again).

      We could always call on a friend.

      3 more examples

      The engineer called round whilst you were away.

      [...] He ordered Her to call at His Houſe once a Week, which She did for ſome Time; after which He heard no more of Her.

      a. 1700 (date written), William Temple, “Of Health and Long-life”, in Miscellanea. The Third Part. […], London: […] Jonathan Swift, […] Benjamin Tooke, […], published 1701, →OCLC, page 127

      The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on a certain afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track.

      1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 58

   2. intransitiveheadingTo stop at a station or port.

      Our cruise ship called at Bristol Harbour.

      1 more example

      This train calls at Reading, Slough and London Paddington.

   3. intransitiveheadingTo come to pass; to afflict.

      They say your love will surely fade, girl, / When things go wrong and trouble calls.

      1968 December 8, Henry Cosby, Sylvia Moy, Stevie Wonder, “I’d Be a Fool Right Now”, in For Once in My Life, performed by Stevie Wonder, Tamla Records

3. To name, identify, or describe.
   1. ditransitiveheadingTo name or refer to.

      Don't call me a liar.

      4 more examples

      Why don’t we dispense with the formalities? Please call me Al.

      I don't know how you and the 'head,' as you call him, will get on, but I do know that if you call my duds a 'livery' again there'll be trouble. It's bad enough to go around togged out like a life saver on a drill day, but I can stand that 'cause I'm paid for it. What I won't stand is to have them togs called a livery.

      1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC

      The Bat—they called him the Bat. Like a bat he chose the night hours for his work of rapine; like a bat he struck and vanished, pouncingly, noiselessly; like a bat he never showed himself to the face of the day.

      1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, “The Shadow of the Bat”, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 6

      But the scandals kept coming, and so we entered stage three–what therapists call "bargaining". A broad section of the political class now recognises the need for change but remains unable to see the necessity of a fundamental overhaul. Instead it offers fixes and patches.

      2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21

      Synonyms: designate, dub, name, bename, clepe, denominate, designate, dub

   2. passive voiceheadingOf a person, to have as one's name; of a thing, to have as its name.

      I’m called John.

      2 more examples

      A very tall building is called a skyscraper.

      The ability of a segment of a glass sphere to magnify whatever is placed before it was known around the year 1000, when the spherical segment was called a reading stone, essentially what today we might term a frameless magnifying glass or plain glass paperweight.

      2013 September-October, Henry Petroski, “The Evolution of Eyeglasses”, in American Scientist

   3. headingTo state, or estimate, approximately or loosely; to characterize without strict regard to fact.

      They call the distance ten miles.

      2 more examples

      That’s enough work. Let's call it a day and go home.

      The whole army is called 700,000 men

      1842, Henry Brougham, Political Philosophy

   4. transitiveheadingTo claim the existence of some malfeasance; to denounce as.

      I call bullshit.

      2 more examples

      She called foul on their scheme.

      Having been around the block a few times, I immediately called "shenanigans” on it, but even so, I was taken aback.

      2008, PC Magazine

   5. obsoleteheadingTo disclose the class or character of; to identify.

      This ſpeech calls him Spaniard, being nothing but / A large inventory of his own commendations.

      c. 1608–1610, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “Philaster: Or, Love Lies a Bleeding”, in Fifty Comedies and Tragedies. […], [part 1], London: […] J[ohn] Macock [and H. Hills], for John Martyn, Henry Herringman, and Richard Marriot, published 1679, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 22, column 2

4. To declare, or declare in favor of, a predicted or actual result.
   1. transitiveheadingTo declare in advance.

      The captains call the coin toss.

   2. transitiveheadingTo predict.

      He called twelve of the last three recessions.

      Synonyms: augur, foretell, anticipate, augur, bode, divine, forecast, foredeem

   3. transitiveheadingTo formally recognise a death: especially to announce and record the time, place and fact of a person’s death.

      “Let’s call it. Time of death, 08:45.” The respiratory therapist stopped bagging. The doctor stopped CPR. There was no heartbeat on the monitor. Michael was dead.

      1997, Joanni Nelson Horchler, Robin Rice Morris, The SIDS Survival Guide: Information and Comfort for Grieving Family and Friends and Professionals who Seek to Help Them, page 33

      2 more examples

      EXAMPLES: Time of death was called at 16:34(Incorrect). Time of death was called at 1634 p.m.(Incorrect). Time of death was called at 1634 hours(Correct). NOTE: Military (or 24-hour) time is not used with a.m, p.m, or o’clock. It is frequently used to state birth and death times, as well as time of day in autopsy protocols. It is customary to write the word hours after the figures.

      2012, Marcy O. Diehl, Medical Transcription: Techniques and Procedures (Seventh Edition), page 127

      If you are staring your dream in the face and seeing that it is time to quit, I urge you to call the time of death right now. You can sit here with this book in your hand and do it, or climb to a mountaintop and shout it, or write it on a message in a bottle and throw it out to sea. However you do it, do it. I can guarantee that there is life on the other side of the impossible. And naming the time of death is an important process in moving on, letting go, and getting to the other side.

      2015, Tracey Cleantis, The Next Happy: Let Go of the Life You Planned and Find a New Way Forward

   4. headingTo declare (an effort or project) to be a failure.

      After the third massive failure, John called the whole initiative.

   5. headingTo make a decision as a referee or umpire.

      The goal was called offside.

5. Direct or indirect use of the voice.
   1. ball games(of a batsman): To shout directions to the other batsman on whether or not they should take a run.
   2. ball games(of a fielder): To shout to other fielders that he intends to take a catch (thus avoiding collisions).
   3. ball gamesTo tell in advance which shot one is attempting.

      Every shot must be called.

      Synonyms: name, nominate, call out, clarify, clear up, explicitize, get something straight, name

   4. intransitivecard gamesTo equal the same amount that other players are currently betting.

      I bet $800 and Jane raised to $1600. My options: call (match her $1600 bet), reraise, or fold.

   5. intransitiveproscribedcard gamesTo match the current bet amount, in preparation for a raise in the same turn. (Usually, players are forbidden to announce one's play this way.)

      I’ll call your 300, and raise to 600!

   6. transitiveheadingTo state, or invoke a rule, in many games such as bridge, craps, jacks, and so on.

      My partner called two spades.

6. sometimestransitiveTo require, demand.

   He felt called to help the old man.

7. transitiveTo cause to be verbally subjected to.

   The basis for his conclusion was called into doubt

   1 more example

   Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations.

   1910, Emerson Hough, “The Gateway, and Some Who Passed”, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 29

8. colloquialtransitiveTo lay claim to an object or role which is up for grabs.

   I call the comfy chair!

   1 more example

   Mr. Burns: Any of these islands would make a fine new country. / Homer: I call president! / Mr. Burns: Vice president! / Smithers: [groans]

   1998, “The Trouble with Trillions”, in The Simpsons, season 9

9. transitivebusinessTo announce the early extinction of a debt by prepayment, usually at a premium.
10. transitivebankingTo demand repayment of a loan.
11. transitivecomputingTo jump to (another part of a program); to perform some operation, returning to the original point on completion.

    A recursive function is one that calls itself.

plural calls

1. countableuncountableA cry or shout.

   He heard a call from the other side of the room.

2. countableuncountableThe characteristic cry of a bird or other animal.

   That sound is the distinctive call of the cuckoo bird.

3. countableuncountableA beckoning or summoning.

   I had to yield to the call of the wild.

   3 more examples

   Dependance is a perpetual call upon humanity, and a greater incitement to tenderness and pity, than any other motive whatsoever.

   1711 October 7 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “WEDNESDAY, September 27, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 181; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume II, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 440

   But they had hoped that, when peace had been restored, when no call of duty required him [William III of England] to cross the sea, he would generally, during the summer and autumn, reside in his fair palaces and parks on the banks of the Thames, [...]

   1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XXIII, in Lady Trevelyan (Hannah More Macaulay), editor, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume V, London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts, →OCLC, page 117

   We actually have a call tomorrow, which is a Sunday, right after my bridal shower. I have to make enchiladas for 10 people!

   2007, Latina, volume 11, page 101

4. countableuncountableA telephone conversation; a phone call.

   I received several calls today.

   1 more example

   I received several phone calls today.

5. countableuncountableAn instance of calling someone on the telephone.

   I made a call to Jim, but he didn’t answer.

6. countableuncountableA short visit, usually for social purposes.

   I paid a call to a dear friend of mine.

   2 more examples

   He [...] ſeldom waits, / Dependent on the baker's punctual call, / To hear his creaking panniers at the door, / Angry and ſad and his laſt cruſt conſumed.

   1785, William Cowper, “Book I. The Sofa.”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson; […], →OCLC, pages 13–14

   Podson stayed till after five, though he handsomely apologized for outstaying a call. "The fact is, I never think of the time, when I get talking to a really intelligent woman...'

   1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 149

7. countableuncountablenauticalA visit by a ship or boat to a port.

   The ship made a call at Southampton.

8. countableuncountableA decision or judgement.

   That was a good call.

   1 more example

   Fair call actually, because don't the girls blow up when you miss an anniversary?

   1995, Paul Vautin, Turn It Up!, Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia, page 2

9. countableuncountableThe right to speak at a given time during a debate or other public event; the floor.

   The Prime Minister has the call.

   1 more example

   I give the call to the Manager of Opposition Business.

10. abbreviationcountableellipsisuncountablebusinessEllipsis of call option.
11. countableuncountableball gamesThe act of calling to the other batsman.
12. countableuncountableball gamesThe state of being the batsman whose role it is to call (depends on where the ball goes.)
13. uncountableA work shift which requires one to be available when requested, i.e. on call.

    The columns in the second rectangle show fewer hours, but part of that is due to the fact that there's a division between a work call and a show call.

    2009, Steven Louis Shelley, A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting, page 171

    3 more examples

    page 48: “Mondays would be great, especially after a weekend of call.” page 56: “[…] I’ve got call tonight, and all weekend, but I’ll be off tomorrow to help you some.”

    1978, Alan E. Nourse, The Practice, Harper & Row, →ISBN

    I took general-surgery call at Bossier Medical Center and asked special permission to take general-medical call, which was gladly given away by the older staff members: […]. You would be surprised at how many surgical cases came out of medical call.

    2007, William D. Bailey, You Will Never Run out of Jesus, CrossHouse Publishing,, →ISBN, page 29

    We attempted to include all topics that we ourselves have faced while taking plastic surgery call at the affiliated hospitals in the Texas Medical Center, one of the largest medical centers in the world, which sees over 100,000 patients per day.

    2008, Jamal M. Bullocks et al., Plastic Surgery Emergencies: Principles and Techniques, Thieme, →ISBN, page ix

14. countableuncountablecomputingThe act of jumping to a subprogram, saving the means to return to the original point.
15. countableuncountableA statement of a particular state, or rule, made in many games such as bridge, craps, jacks, and so on.

    There was a 20 dollar bet on the table, and my call was 9.

16. countableuncountablecard gamesThe act of matching a bet made by a player who has previously bet in the same round of betting.
17. countableuncountableA note blown on the horn to encourage the dogs in a hunt.
18. countableuncountablenauticalA whistle or pipe, used by the boatswain and his mate to summon the sailors to duty.
19. countableuncountableA pipe or other instrument to call birds or animals by imitating their note or cry. A game call.
20. countableuncountableAn invitation to take charge of or serve a church as its pastor.
21. archaiccountableuncountableVocation; employment; calling.
22. UScountableuncountablelawA reference to, or statement of, an object, course, distance, or other matter of description in a survey or grant requiring or calling for a corresponding object, etc., on the land.
23. countableinformalslanguncountablelifestyleA meeting with a client for paid sex; hookup; job.

    1 more example

    "They have a little network of women that watch out for each other," Morford said. That means that if one prostitute doesn't come back after going out on a call – whether it's an Internet prostitute or a streetwalker – and the other women can't get hold of her, they get scared, close up shop and won't work, Morford said.

    2015 March 3, Lyda Longa, “Internet hookups mean fewer prostitutes on Daytona’s streets, police say”, in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Daytona Beach, Fla.

24. countableuncountablelawA lawyer who was called to the bar (became licensed as a lawyer) in a specified year.

    The work was done by two lawyers, one a 1983 call and the other a 2010 call.

    2020 October 28, Master K.E. Jolley, “Korlyakov v. Riesz, 2020 ONSC 6622”, in CanLII, retrieved 19 Jun 2021

25. countableuncountableNeed; necessity.

    There's no call for that kind of bad language!

    2 more examples

    CALL 2 need for. "There worn't noa call for nowt o't'soart."

    1865, William Stott Banks, Wakefield Words, page 11

    If and when they took place, our fights mostly centered around how he treated or spoke to me. In the band’s early days, our first drummer, Richard Edson, was the first to notice the dynamic between us. He would stand up for me, saying things like “Hey, man, there’s no call to talk to her like that.”

    2015, Kim Gordon, chapter 24, in Carrie Thornton, editor, Girl in a Band, New York: Dey st., →ISBN, page 146

1. A surname.

1. abbreviationinitialismuncountableInitialism of computer-assisted language learning.