Word
phone call
Definition
compound. A conversation that you have with someone using a telephone.
compound. A communicative act conducted via a telephone network between two or more parties
Examples
“I need to make a quick phone call.”
“She received an important phone call from her doctor during the meeting.”
“The tense silence was finally broken by a shrill, insistent phone call that nobody dared to answer.”
Examples
simple
“I need to make a quick phone call.”
contextual
“She received an important phone call from her doctor during the meeting.”
complex
“The tense silence was finally broken by a shrill, insistent phone call that nobody dared to answer.”
Teaching tip
Drill the key collocations 'make a call' (to initiate) and 'get/receive a call' (to be the recipient) to build fluency.
Pitfall
I did a phone call to my mother.
I made a phone call to my mother.
The standard verb for initiating a call is 'make', not 'do'.