call

call¹ W1S1 [ko:l US ko:l] v

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1¦(telephone)¦

2¦(describe)¦

3¦(have a name)¦

4¦(give somebody/something a name)¦

5¦(ask/order by speaking)¦

6¦(arrange)¦

7¦(say/shout)¦

8 call yourself something

9 call the shots/tune

10 call it a day

11 call collect

12¦(read names)¦

13¦(court)¦

14 call (something) into question

15 be/feel called to do something

16 call somebody/something to order

17¦(visit)¦

18 call it £10/2 hours etc

19 call it a draw

20 call it/things even

21 call (somebody's) attention to

22 call something to mind

23 call a huddle

24 call time (on somebody/something)

25¦(trains/ships)¦

26¦(coin)¦

27¦(card game)¦

Phrasal verbs

　call back

　call by

　call down something

　call for somebody/something

　call something<=>forth

　call in

　call somebody/something<=>off

　call on/upon somebody/something

　call out

　call up

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[Date: 1100-1200; : Old Norse; Origin: kalla]

1.) ¦(TELEPHONE)¦ [I and T]

to telephone someone

▪ She calls her father every couple of days.

▪ I'll call you soon.

▪ What time did Tony call?

call a doctor/the police/a cab etc

(=telephone someone and ask them to come to you)

▪ I think we should call a doctor.

▪ I'm gonna call the cops!

2.) ¦(DESCRIBE)¦ [T]

to use a word or name to describe someone or something in a particular way

call sb sth

▪ Are you calling me a liar?

▪ You may call it harmless fun, but I call it pornography.

call sb names

(=use insulting names for someone)

▪ The other kids used to call me names, but I tried to ignore them.

3.) ¦(HAVE A NAME)¦ [T]

to have a particular name or title, or use a particular name or title for someone or something

be called sth

▪ Their eldest son is called Matthew.

▪ The arrow that appears on the screen is called a cursor.

call sb sth

▪ My name's Virginia, but my friends call me Ginny.

▪ Do you want to be called Miss or Ms?

call sb by sth

▪ I prefer to be called by my middle name.

4.) ¦(GIVE SOMEBODY/SOMETHING A NAME)¦ [T]

especially BrE to give someone or something the name they will be known by in the future

American Equivalent: name

▪ What are you going to call the new puppy?

call sb sth

▪ They've decided to call the baby Louise.

5.) ¦(ASK/ORDER BY SPEAKING)¦ [T]

to ask or order someone to come to you

call sb into/over/across etc

▪ Peter called the waitress over and ordered a large brandy.

▪ Marcie was called up to the principal's office.

6.) ¦(ARRANGE)¦ [T]

to arrange for something to happen at a particular time

call a meeting/strike/election etc

▪ The Security Council has called an emergency session to discuss the crisis.

▪ According to the law, the election must be called within the next two months.

7.) ¦(SAY/SHOUT)¦ [I and T]

to say or shout something loudly so that someone can hear you

▪ I heard someone calling in the distance.

▪ 'I'm coming!' she called down the stairs.

▪ Sheila was just sneaking out when her mother called her.

▪ She heard him call her name .

8.) call yourself sth

to say that you are a particular type of person, although you do nothing to show this is true

▪ How could Julian call himself a friend and then let me down so badly?

9.) call the shots/tune informal

to be in a position of authority so that you can give orders and make decisions

▪ It was a job in which she was able to call the shots.

10.) call it a day informal

to decide to stop working, especially because you have done enough or you are tired

▪ Come on, let's call it a day and go home.

11.) call collect

AmE to make a telephone call that is paid for by the person who receives it

British Equivalent: reverse the charges

12.) ¦(READ NAMES)¦ [T]

also call out

to read names or numbers in a loud voice in order to get someone's attention

▪ When I call your name, go and stand in line.

13.) ¦(COURT)¦ [T usually passive]

to tell someone that they must come to a law court or official committee

call sb to do sth

▪ They were called to give evidence at the trial.

14.) call (sth) into question

to make people uncertain about whether something is right, good, or true

▪ I feel that my competence is being called into question here.

15.) be/feel called to do sth

to feel strongly that you should do something

▪ He felt called to write to all his fellow investors, warning them of the impending crisis.

16.) call sb/sth to order

formal to tell people to obey the rules of a formal meeting

17.) ¦(VISIT)¦

[i]also call round

BrE to stop at a house or other place for a short time to see someone or do something

▪ She called round for a chat.

call on sb

▪ We thought we'd call on James on the way home.

call (in) at sth

▪ I regularly called in at his office for news.

call into sth

▪ People often call into the library while they're out shopping.

18.) call it £10/2 hours etc

spoken used to suggest a general figure rather than a more specific one, especially in order to make things simpler

▪ 'I owe you £10.20.' 'Oh, call it £10!'

19.) call it a draw

if two opponents in a game call it a draw, they agree that neither of them has won

→call it quits at ↑quits

20.) call it/things even

spoken use this to say that someone who owes you something does not have to give you anything more than they have already given you

21.) call (sb's) attention to

a) to ask people to pay attention to a particular subject or problem

▪ May I call your attention to item seven on the agenda.

b) to make someone notice someone or something

▪ I wanted to shout out to Ken, but I didn't want to call attention to myself.

22.) call sth to mind

a) to remind you of something

▪ Don't those two call to mind the days when we were courting?

b) to remember something

▪ I couldn't call to mind where I'd seen him before.

23.) call a huddle

AmE informal to make people come together to talk about something

24.) call time (on sb/sth)

to say that it is time for something to finish or stop

25.) ¦(TRAINS/SHIPS)¦

if a train, ship, bus etc calls at a place, it stops there for a short time

= ↑stop

▪ This train calls at all stations to Broxbourne.

26.) ¦(COIN)¦ [I and T]

to guess which side of a coin will land upwards when it is thrown in the air, in order to decide who will play first in a game

▪ It's your turn to call.

27.) ¦(CARD GAME)¦ [I and T]

to risk the same amount of money as the player who plays before you in a ↑poker game

→↑so-called,call sb's bluff [i]at ↑bluff² (2)

→too close to call at ↑close² (8)

call back phr v

1.) call (sb) back

to telephone someone again, for example because they were not at home when you telephoned last time

▪ I'll call back later.

▪ Can you ask John to call me back when he gets in?

2.) BrE to return to a place you went to earlier

▪ You could call back to collect her at noon.

call by phr v

to stop and visit someone when you are near the place where they live or work

▪ I thought I'd call by and see how you were.

call down [call down sth] phr v

formal to ask for someone, especially a god, to make something unpleasant happen to someone or something

call down something on/upon

▪ He called down vengeance on them.

call for / [call for sb/sth] phr v

1.) if a group of people calls for something, they ask publicly for something to be done

▪ Human Rights groups are calling for the release of political prisoners.

2.) to need or deserve a particular type of behaviour or treatment

▪ Dealing with children who are so damaged calls for immense tact and sensitivity.

▪ That kind of abuse is really not called for (=it is unnecessary and unwelcome) .

→↑uncalled for

3.) BrE to meet someone at their home in order to take them somewhere

▪ I'll call for you at 8 o'clock.

4.) AmE to say that a particular kind of weather is likely to happen

= ↑predict

▪ The forecast calls for more rain.

call forth [call sth<=>forth] phr v

formal to produce a particular reaction

▪ Great works of classical music can often call forth a mixture of responses from the listener.

call in phr v

1.) call sb/sth<=>in

to ask someone to come and help you with a difficult situation

▪ The government then called in troops to deal with the disturbances.

2.) to telephone somewhere, especially the place where you work, to tell them where you are, what you are doing etc

▪ Rachael called in sick (=telephoned to say she was too ill to come to work) .

3.) to telephone a radio or television show to give your opinion or to ask a question

▪ Over 2000 viewers called in with complaints about the bad language used in the programme.

4.) call in a loan/debt

to officially tell someone to pay back money you lent them

▪ The economy slid further into bankruptcy when several foreign banks called in unpaid loans.

5.) BrE to visit a person or place while you are on your way to somewhere else

call in on/at

▪ Could you call in on Mum on your way home?

call off [call sb/sth<=>off] phr v

1.) to decide that a planned event will not take place

= ↑cancel

▪ The trip to Italy might be called off.

2.) to officially decide that something should be stopped after it has already started

▪ Rescuers had to call off the search because of worsening weather conditions.

3.) to order an animal or person to stop attacking or threatening someone

▪ Call your dog off.

call on/upon / [call on/upon sb/sth] phr v

1.) to formally ask someone to do something

call on sb to do sth

▪ The UN has called on both sides to observe the ceasefire.

2.) to visit someone for a short time

▪ Why don't you call on my sister when you're in Brighton?

call out phr v

1.) to say something loudly

call sth<=>out

▪ 'Hi there!' I called out.

call out to

▪ The firemen called out to him.

2.) call sb<=>out

to ask or order a person or an organization to help, especially in a difficult or dangerous situation

▪ The army was called out to help fight fires.

3.) call sb/sth<=>out

BrE to order workers to go on ↑strike

▪ The transport workers were called out.

call up phr v

1.) informal especially AmE to telephone someone

call sb<=>up

▪ He called me up to tell me about it.

▪ I'm going to call up and cancel my subscription.

2.) call sth<=>up

if you call up information on a computer, you make the computer show it to you

▪ I called up their website, but it didn't have the information I was looking for.

3.) call sb<=>up

BrE to officially order someone to join the army, navy, or air force

American Equivalent: draft

▪ I was called up three months after war broke out.

4.) call sb<=>up

to choose someone for a national sports team

→↑call-up

▪ Hurst was called up for the game against Mexico.

5.) call sth<=>up

to produce something or make it appear

▪ Local people believe she can call up the spirits of the dead.

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WORD CHOICE: call, phone, telephone, ring

In spoken English, it is usual to say that you call or phone someone : He calls me almost every day. | Phone me when you get there.

In spoken British English, it is also very usual to say that you ring someone : Have you rung Kim yet?

It is fairly formal and not very usual in spoken English to say that you telephone someone.

!! Do not say that you 'call to' someone : I called him (NOT called to him) to let him know.

!! There is no verb 'phone call' : I need to call (NOT to phone call) Monica.

You can also say that you give someone a (phone) call or, in British English, give them a ring : Give me a call sometime. |I think I'll give Mum a ring.

!! Do not say 'give someone a phone'.

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call ²

call² W1S1 n

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1¦(telephone)¦

2 be on call

3¦(shout/cry)¦

4¦(visit)¦

5¦(request/order)¦

6¦(decision)¦

7 there isn't much call for something

8 there is no call for something

9¦(at an airport)¦

10 have first call on something

11 the call of something

12 the call of nature

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1.) ¦(TELEPHONE)¦

when you speak to someone on the telephone

call for

▪ Were there any phone calls for me while I was out?

call from

▪ There was a call from Ann for you.

▪ It's cheaper to make calls after 6pm.

▪ I'll give you a call at the weekend.

▪ I got a call from Jane last week.

▪ I'll take the call in my office.

▪ Why haven't you returned any of my calls ?

▪ You can make a local call for under 2p a minute.

▪ I don't make many long-distance calls , so my phone bill's usually quite low.

▪ This telephone only accepts incoming calls .

▪ Detectives are investigating a hoax call which led to the evacuation of an office block.

▪ an anonymous call to a Sunday newspaper

2.) be on call

if someone such as a doctor or engineer is on call, they are ready to go and help whenever they are needed as part of their job

▪ Don't worry, there's a doctor on call 24 hours a day.

3.) ¦(SHOUT/CRY)¦

a) a loud sound that a particular bird or animal makes

= ↑cry call of

▪ I again heard the call of an owl.

b) a shout that you make to get someone's attention

4.) ¦(VISIT)¦

a visit, especially for a particular reason

▪ Sorry, Doctor Pugh is out on a call at the moment.

pay/make a call (on sb)

(=visit someone)

5.) ¦(REQUEST/ORDER)¦

a request or order for something or for someone to do something

▪ Members obediently answered the calls for funds.

call for sb to do sth

▪ There have been calls for the secretary to resign.

a call to arms

(=an order for people to fight against an enemy)

6.) ¦(DECISION)¦

a)

the decision made by a ↑referee in a sports game

make a good/bad call

▪ There may have been a few bad calls, but they're making them for a reason.

b) [singular] especially AmE informal a decision

▪ Don't just say what you think I would like. It's your call .

make a call

(=decide something)

an easy/hard call

(=an easy or difficult decision)

judgement call

(=a decision based on your personal judgement of a situation)

7.) there isn't much call for sth

used for saying that not many people want a particular thing

▪ There isn't much call for black and white televisions these days.

8.) there is no call for sth

spoken used to tell someone that their behaviour is wrong and unnecessary

▪ There's no call for that kind of language! I'm doing my best!

9.) ¦(AT AN AIRPORT)¦

a message announced at an airport that a particular plane will soon leave

▪ This is the last call for flight BA872 to Moscow.

10.) have first call on sth

a) to have the right to be the first person to use something

b) to be the first person that you will help because they are important to you

▪ Her children had first call on her time.

11.) the call of sth

literary the power that a place or way of life has to attract someone

▪ the call of the sea

12.) the call of nature

a need to ↑urinate (=pass liquid from your body) - used especially humorously

→be at sb's beck and call at ↑beck, ↑port of call, ↑roll-call, ↑wake-up call

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COLLOCATES for sense 1

phone call

make a call

give somebody a call

get/receive a call

take a call (=speak to someone on the phone when someone else has answered)

return a call (=telephone someone who tried to telephone you earlier)

local call

long-distance call

incoming call (=a call someone makes to you)

hoax/crank call (=a call intended to trick someone)

anonymous call (=from an unknown person)

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