1. Call after
To give a child the same name as someone else, especially a family member
- We have called him Benjamin after his father.
2. Call around / Call round
To go to someone’s house to visit them
- I called around yesterday but you weren’t there.
3. Call away
To ask someone to go somewhere else
- I am afraid the doctor was called away on an emergency earlier today, but he should be back soon.
4. Call back
To return a phone call or to phone someone again
- He’s on another call at the moment, but I will get him to call you back.
To return to a place
- She said I could call back later today to collect the laundry.
To be asked to return for a second interview or a second audition
- They are only going to call back 4 people out of the 80 people who went for the first interview.
5. Call for
Publicly demand that something be done
- The protesters were calling for the resignation of the president.
To require or make necessary
- John got the job! This news calls for a celebration!
To go somewhere to pick someone or something up
- I will call for you around seven – try to be ready on time!
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6. Call forth
To elicit a reaction
- Bernard insulted his wife’s mother, which called forth an angry response from her.
7. Call in
To phone
- The radio station’s listeners have been calling in all morning with answers to the quiz.
To visit someone
- Can you call in on your grandmother on your way home and make sure she is alright?
To ask a person, especially an expert, to come to do something
- We had to call in fumigators to deal with the mice and cockroaches.
To ask someone to enter a room
- My boss called me in to his office yesterday morning to give me a warning because I came to work late three times this week.
8. Call off
To cancel an organised event
- Sandra called off the wedding at the very last minute!
To stop doing an activity
- We had to call off the search when it became too dark to continue.
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9. Call on
To visit someone
- I am going to call on my mother on the way home from work.
To demand or request that someone do something
- The supporters of the opposition called on the government to call a new election.
To use a quality, usually something that requires a great effort, in order to achieve something
- I had to call on all my strength to finish the marathon.
Have recourse to
- We may need to call on experts in the field for their opinion on the matter.
To ask for an answer or response
- The teacher always calls on me for the answer – it’s not fair!
10. Call up
To phone somebody
- I will call up everyone we’d invited and tell them that we have called off the party.
Select someone to play on a team
- He was called up to play for Spain in the World Cup.
To summon for military service, especially during a war
- When the war broke out, he was terrified that he would be called up.
To make you remember or recall something
- Seeing her again called up all those old memories.
To make information in a computer appear on screen
- This icon will call up the menu.
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11. Call out
Order or request help from someone
- They called out the fire services when they saw the flames.
12. Call round
To visit someone
- Thank you for calling round, I really appreciate it.
13. Call at
Stop at a harbour, port or station
- This train will be calling at every station on the way to London.
14. Call by
To visit somewhere briefly whilst on your way to somewhere else.
- I thought it my might be nice to call by Aunt Betty’s house on our way to Bristol.
15. Call down
To find fault with; reprimand
- My professor is a perfectionist and always calls me down for such minor errors!
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