Definition of: call

(kôl) v. t.
1. To appeal to by word of mouth.
2. To utter or read aloud.
3. To summon in any way; convoke, as Congress; convene; invoke solemnly: to call God to witness.
4. To designate or characterize in any way; name; style; suppose; assume to be so much.
5. To read aloud from a list of names: Call the roll.
6. To arouse, as from sleep.
7. To designate for a special work: to call to the ministry.
8. To lure (birds or animals) by imitating their cry with a whistle, call, or other imitative means.
9. To insist upon payment of, as by written notice.
10. To communicate by telephone.
11. To fix the time for; bring to action: to call a case to court.
12. Colloq. In the game of pool, to designate (a shot), before making the play.
13. In baseball, to stop or suspend (a game) because of rain, darkness, etc.
—v.i.
14. To lift up the voice in address, command, or entreaty; send out a cry of summons; appeal; sound a signal.
15. To communicate by telephone: I will call tomorrow.
16. To make a brief visit, stop or stay: followed by at, on, or upon: The steamer calls at Southampton.
17. In poker, to demand a show of hands, upon staking an amount equal to the bet of each previous player.
18. In whist and other card games, to make a demand or give a signal, as for trumps or for a particular card.
19. To ask for a showdown on anything.
—to call back
1. To summon back; recall; revoke; retract.
2. To call in return, as by telephone.
—to call one's bluff To take a challenge; ask for a showdown.
—to call down
1. To pray heaven to send or cause to descend: to call down the wrath of the gods.
2. To rebuke; reprimand.
—to call off
1. To count; announce.
2. To cancel.
—to call out
1. To shout.
2. To bring an actor or actress out before the curtains by applause.
3. To summon workers to go out on strike.
—to call up
1. To bring before the memory or mind's eye.
2. To bring up for action or discussion, as a legislative measure.
3. To demand payment of, as amounts due on shares.
4. To notify to appear before some tribunal, as a court; cite.
5. To notify to appear for induction into the armed forces; also, to summon (troops) for active service.
6. To summon to stand up and speak.
7. To communicate with by telephone.
—noun
1. A shout or cry to attract attention or response.
2. A lifting up of the voice in speech or other utterance; specifically, a thing called or indicated.
3. A summons or invitation; also, a roll call, a bugle call, or telephone call.
4. A requirement; claim; right; obligation: the call of duty.
5. A brief visit.
6. An assessment or demand; specifically, a contract requiring, in consideration of money paid, the delivery of some article named, as stocks, at a certain price. Compare PUT noun (def. 2).
7. A request by a government or corporation that holders of its redeemable bonds present them for payment.
8. An assessment on the members of a corporation or joint-stock company for the payment of subscription instalments, or for cash to meet losses.
9. A blast on a hunting horn to encourage the hounds.
10. The characteristic cry of an animal or a bird.
11. Law A visible natural object or an established point mentioned in the descriptive part of a deed for tracing a line of vision or boundary: a call of the deed.
12. An inward urge to a certain line of work; a vocation.
13. Colloq. Right or occasion for: You've no call to do that.
14. In poker, a demand for a show of hands: made only after equaling preceding bets.
15. A notice of rehearsals, instructions to actors, etc., posted on the callboard.
—at (or on) call Payable on demand, or without previous notice, as a loan or deposit.
—to have the call To have the advantage; also, to be the leader in popular favor.
—within call Readily accessible or within hearing; also, subject to call. ◆ Homophone: caul. [<ON kalla] Synonyms (verb): bawl, bellow, clamor, cry, ejaculate, exclaim, roar, scream, shout, shriek, vociferate, yell. To call is to send out the voice in order to attract another's attention, either by word or by inarticulate utterance. Animals call their mates, or their young; a man calls his dog, his horse, etc. The sense is extended to include summons by bell or other audible signal. To shout is to call or exclaim with the fullest volume of sustained voice; to scream or shriek is to utter a shriller cry. We shout words; in screaming, shrieking, or yelling there is often no attempt at articulation. To bawl is to utter senseless, noisy cries, like a child in pain or anger. Bellow and roar are applied to the utterances of animals, and only figuratively to those of persons. To clamor is to utter with noisy iteration; it applies also to the confused cries of a multitude. To vociferate is commonly applied to loud, excited speech. One may exclaim, or ejaculate with no thought of others' presence; when he calls, it is to attract another's attention. See CONVOKE, EXCLAIM. Antonyms, harken, hush, list, listen.