call
- 01 A1 Beginner
v.to give someone or something a name, or to use their name.
v.to assign a name to an entity or to address someone by a specific name or title.
Simple“My name is Catherine, but my friends all call me Cat.”
In context“Although his legal name was Richard, he insisted that his colleagues call him by his childhood nickname.”
PitfallI call him as 'John'. I call him 'John'.Do not use 'as' when using 'call' to mean naming someone; the object follows the verb directly.
- 02 A1 Beginner
v.to try to speak to someone using a phone.
v.to contact or attempt to contact a person via telephone.
Simple“I will call you as soon as I get home from work.”
In context“The manager promised to call the client personally to resolve the billing discrepancy before the end of the business day.”
- 03 A2 Elementary
v.to shout or speak loudly to get someone's attention.
v.to cry out loudly in order to attract attention or summon someone.
Simple“She called his name across the busy street, but he didn't hear her.”
In context“The rescue team called out into the dark canyon, hoping for any sign of life from the missing hikers.”
- 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to ask for something to happen or to order someone to come.
v.to command or request the presence or action of someone; to officially convene a meeting.
Simple“The president called a meeting to discuss the new safety rules.”
In context“The board of directors called an emergency session to address the sudden drop in share prices following the quarterly report.”
- 05 A1 Beginner
n.an instance of speaking to someone on the phone.
n.a telephonic communication or the act of initiating one.
Simple“I had a long call with my mother last night.”
In context“The receptionist handled over fifty incoming calls during the morning rush, directing each to the appropriate department.”
Synonyms - 06 B1 Intermediate
n.a choice or a judgement about a situation.
n.a decision or judgement, often one made by an official in a game or a person in authority.
Simple“It was a tough call, but we decided to cancel the trip.”
In context“The referee made a controversial call in the final minute of the game, awarding a penalty that changed the outcome entirely.”
- 07 B1 Intermediate
n.the specific sound an animal or bird makes.
n.the characteristic cry or vocalisation of a non-human animal, especially a bird.
Simple“We woke up to the beautiful call of a bird outside our window.”
In context“The naturalist was able to identify several rare species simply by listening to their distinctive mating calls in the forest.”
- 08 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a short stop at a place, often by a person or a ship.
n.a brief social visit or a scheduled stop by a vessel at a port.
Simple“The cruise ship made a one-day call at the island of Crete.”
In context“The doctor made several house calls to elderly patients who were unable to travel to the clinic during the winter.”
- 09 C1 Advanced
n.a reason or need for something to happen.
n.a justification, necessity, or demand for a particular action or quality.
Simple“There is no call for such rude behaviour in this office.”
In context“The supervisor noted that there was little call for additional staff during the off-peak season, given the current volume of work.”
UsageOften used in the negative, such as 'no call for'.
Synonyms - 10 C1 Advanced
v.to tell a computer program to run a specific set of instructions.
v.to invoke a subprogram, routine, or function within a piece of software code.
Simple“The main program will call the print function after the data is saved.”
In context“The script failed because it attempted to call a library that had not been properly initialised in the environment.”
Usage call home · calls settler · call police