Call Definition

kôl
called, calling, calls
verb
called, calling, calls
To say or read in a loud tone; shout; announce.
To call the names of stations.
Webster's New World
To demand or ask for the presence of.
Called the children to dinner; call the police.
American Heritage
To ask that a person do something, esp. speak, as at a meeting.
Webster's New World
To summon to a specific duty, profession, etc.
The army called him.
Webster's New World
To convoke judicially or officially.
To call a meeting.
Webster's New World
noun
calls
An act or instance of calling.
Webster's New World
A loud utterance; shout.
Webster's New World
The distinctive cry of an animal or bird.
Webster's New World
A sound made in imitation of such a cry to attract an animal or bird.
Webster's New World
A telephone communication or connection.
American Heritage
Antonyms:
idiom
call in
  • To raise doubts about.
American Heritage
call it a day
  • To stop what one has been doing, for the remainder of the day or at least for the present.
American Heritage
call it a night
  • To stop what one has been doing, for the remainder of the night.
American Heritage
call it quits
  • To stop working or trying; quit.
American Heritage
call names
  • To speak to or about another in offensive terms.
American Heritage

Other Word Forms of Call

Noun

Singular:
call
Plural:
calls

Origin of Call

  • From Middle English callen, from Old English ceallian (“to call, shout”) and Old Norse kalla (“to call, shout”); both from Proto-Germanic *kalzōną (“to call, shout”), from Proto-Indo-European *gal(o)s-, *glōs-, *golH-so- (“voice, cry”). Cognate with Scots call, caw, ca (“to call, cry, shout”), Dutch kallen (“to chat, talk”), German kallen (“to scream, talk loudly, talk too much”), Swedish kalla (“to call, refer to, beckon”), Norwegian kalle (“to call, name”), Icelandic kalla (“to call, shout, name”), Latin glōria (“fame, honour, glory”), Welsh galw (“to call, demand”), Polish głos (“voice”), Lithuanian gal̃sas (“echo”). More at glory.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English callen probably from Old Norse kalla gal- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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