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; establish

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 the colors.

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.

(in a computer program) to transfer control of to a procedure or subroutine.

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).

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.

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 went into a telephone booth to place her call.

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, esp. 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. ?

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; demand; 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 or into question. question ( 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 or upon,

to ask; appeal to

They called on him to represent them.

to visit for a short time

to call on friends.

call out,

to speak in a loud voice; shout.

to summon into service or action

Call out the militia!

to bring out; elicit

The emergency called out her hidden abilities.

to direct attention to with a callout

to call out each detail in an illustration.

Informal . to challenge to a fight.

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 video screen

She called up the full text.

call in sick. sick 1 ( def. 14 ) .

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.

verb

abandon , abort , break off , cancel , desist , drop , kill * , postpone , scrub * , withdraw , call