Meaning & use
call
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To phone someone so you can speak to them.
Grammar: Takes an object (call your mother) or none (I will call later); British English also says ring.
Patterns
- call someone
- call someone back
- call about something
I will call you as soon as the train arrives.
She called the dentist to change her appointment.
Please call back after lunch; he is in a meeting.
verbtransitive
To use a particular name or title for someone or something.
Grammar: Needs an object and a name: they call him Alex.
Patterns
- call someone something
- call something by a name
Everyone calls her Dr. Lee at the clinic.
What do you call this kind of pasta?
They called the puppy Biscuit.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To say something loudly to attract attention, or to ask someone to come.
Grammar: Often followed by out or to: she called out; he called to his friend.
Patterns
- call out
- call to someone
- call someone in
She called from the kitchen that dinner was ready.
The teacher called the students back inside.
He called to the lifeguard across the pool.
nouncountable
An act of phoning someone, or the conversation that takes place.
Grammar: Usually a countable noun: make a call, take a call, miss a call.
Patterns
- a call from someone
- a call to someone
I got a call from my sister last night.
The call lasted barely two minutes.
Please return his call this afternoon.
nouncountable
A short visit, or a request or demand for something to happen.
Grammar: Often with for: a call for change; also pay a call on someone.
Patterns
- a call for something
- pay a call on someone
Residents made a call for better bus services.
The doctor made a house call on Sunday.
There was a call for volunteers at the end of the meeting.
Word forms
| third person singular | calls |
|---|---|
| past tense | called |
| past participle | called |
| -ing form | calling |
Common combinations
- call a meeting
- The chairman called a meeting for Friday morning.
- call for help
- She called for help when the car stalled.
- call it a day
- We were tired, so we called it a day.
- call off
- They called off the picnic because of rain.
- make a call
- I need to make a quick call before we leave.
- call someone's bluff
- He called her bluff and asked to see the tickets.
Synonyms and how they differ
- phone
- Phone is a near-equal for the first sense, but call can also mean shouting or naming, which phone cannot.
- ring
- Ring is the British equivalent for telephoning, and sounds informal in American usage.
- name
- Name means to give a name at the start, while call also covers what people habitually say.
- shout
- Shout stresses loudness, while call only means raising your voice enough to be heard.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: call or cull? call or caul?
call vs cull
Cull means to select or remove, especially to reduce animals; it only sounds a little like call.
call vs caul
A caul is a membrane sometimes covering a newborn's head; it sounds identical to call but is a rare, unrelated noun.
Practice
Which sentence uses call to mean giving someone a name?
Choose one answer.
Only the first links a name to the dog. The others are telephoning or shouting senses.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “call”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.