ENGLISH
REFERENCE

call back

phr. v..
A2 Elementary Oxford

phr. v.. to telephone someone again, or to return a phone call they made to you earlier.

phr. v.. to return a telephonic communication or to place a second call to a party previously contacted.


SIMPLE

I'm busy now, so I will call you back later.

CONTEXTUAL

The manager is in a meeting, but she promises to call back as soon as she is free.

COMPLEX

After reviewing the initial application, the recruitment team decided to call back the candidate for a more technical second interview.

Particles
back
Separability
optional
Pattern
call (+ object) + back
Usage

can be used with or without a direct object representing the person being called.

Teaching tip

this is a highly productive separable phrasal verb; use it to practice pronoun placement, as 'call back him' is a common error compared to 'call him back'.

Pitfall

I will call back him at five.I will call him back at five.when using a pronoun like 'him', 'her', or 'it', the pronoun must go between the verb and the particle.

© 2026 English Reference