call

verb36

1. •
   To cry or shout.

   • "Supper's ready," called Dad from the kitchen.
2. •
   To contact by telephone.

   • Why don’t you call me in the morning?
   • Why don’t you call tomorrow?
3. •
   To name, identify, or describe.
4. •
   To name or refer to.

   • Why don’t we dispense with the formalities? Please call me Al.
   • Don't call me a liar.
5. •
   Of a person, to have as one's name; of a thing, to have as its name.

   • I’m called John.
   • A very tall building is called a skyscraper.
6. •
   to shout or make a sign in order to ask someone to come or to help

   • That person is hurt; call for help!
7. •
   To 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
8. •
   To utter in a loud or distinct voice.

   • 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
9. •
   (of a batsman): To shout directions to the other batsman on whether or not they should take a run.
10. •
    (of a fielder): To shout to other fielders that he intends to take a catch (thus avoiding collisions).
11. •
    To reach out with one's voice.
12. •
    To declare, or declare in favor of, a predicted or actual result.
13. •
    To 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
14. •
    To declare (an effort or project) to be a failure.

    • After the third massive failure, John called the whole initiative.
15. •
    To make a decision as a referee or umpire.

    • The goal was called offside.
16. •
    To visit.
17. •
    To 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.
    • The engineer called round whilst you were away.
18. •
    To stop at a station or port.

    • This train calls at Reading, Slough and London Paddington.
    • Our cruise ship called at Bristol Harbour.
19. •
    To state, or estimate, approximately or loosely; to characterize without strict regard to fact.

    • They call the distance ten miles.
    • That’s enough work. Let's call it a day and go home.
20. •
    To declare in advance.

    • The captains call the coin toss.
21. •
    To predict.

    • He called twelve of the last three recessions.
22. •
    To tell in advance which shot one is attempting.

    • Every shot must be called.
23. •
    To cause to be verbally subjected to.

    • The basis for his conclusion was called into doubt
24. •
    To require, demand.

    • He felt called to help the old man.
25. •
    To claim the existence of some malfeasance; to denounce as.

    • I call bullshit.
    • She called foul on their scheme.
26. •
    To 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.
27. •
    (nonstandard) To 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!
28. •
    To 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.
29. •
    (informal) To lay claim to an object or role which is up for grabs.

    • I call the comfy chair!
30. •
    To state, or invoke a rule, in many games such as bridge, craps, jacks, and so on.

    • My partner called two spades.
31. •
    To announce the early extinction of a debt by prepayment, usually at a premium.
32. •
    To demand repayment of a loan.
33. •
    To 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
34. •
    To come to pass; to afflict.

    • They say your love will surely fade, girl, / When things go wrong and trouble calls. — 1968
35. •
    To scold.
36. •
    (no longer used) To disclose the class or character of; to identify.

    • This speech calls him Spaniard, being nothing but / A large inventory of his own commendations. — 1608

noun25

1. •
   A cry or shout.

   • He heard a call from the other side of the room.
2. •
   A telephone conversation; a phone call.

   • I received several phone calls today.
   • I received several calls today.
3. •
   An instance of calling someone on the telephone.

   • I made a call to Jim, but he didn’t answer.
4. •
   A decision or judgement.

   • That was a good call.
5. •
   The characteristic cry of a bird or other animal.

   • That sound is the distinctive call of the cuckoo bird.
6. •
   A beckoning or summoning.

   • I had to yield to the call of the wild.
7. •
   An invitation to take charge of or serve a church as its pastor.
8. •
   A short visit, usually for social purposes.

   • I paid a call to a dear friend of mine.
9. •
   A visit by a ship or boat to a port.

   • The ship made a call at Southampton.
10. •
    Need; necessity.

    • There's no call for that kind of bad language!
11. •
    The act of calling to the other batsman.
12. •
    A 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.
13. •
    A work shift which requires one to be available when requested, i.e. on call.

    • 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
14. •
    The act of matching a bet made by a player who has previously bet in the same round of betting.
15. •
    Ellipsis of call option.
16. •
    The act of jumping to a subprogram, saving the means to return to the original point.
17. •
    The right to speak at a given time during a debate or other public event; the floor.

    • The Prime Minister has the call.
    • I give the call to the Manager of Opposition Business.
18. •
    A whistle or pipe, used by the boatswain and his mate to summon the sailors to duty.
19. •
    A pipe or other instrument to call birds or animals by imitating their note or cry. A game call.
20. •
    The state of being the batsman whose role it is to call (depends on where the ball goes.)
21. •
    A note blown on the horn to encourage the dogs in a hunt.
22. •
    A 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
23. •
    (informal, slang) A meeting with a client for paid sex; hookup; job.
24. •
    (US) A 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.
25. •
    (no longer used) Vocation; employment; calling.

noun1

1. •
   Initialism of computer-assisted language learning.