17 English Phrasal Verbs With Call

17 phrasal verbs with ‘call’

1. CALL AFTER

1. To give a child the same name as someone else, especially someone from the same family
   The baby was called after her grandmother.
   She was called Sally after her great aunt.

2. CALL AROUND

1. To visit someone
   Let’s call around to see your mother later.
2. To call multiple people in order to get information about something
   We didn’t know which hospital he was in, so we had to call around.

3. CALL AT

1. To stop at a place for a brief period of time (usually referring to a ship or train)
   This train will call at: Eastbourne, Brighton and Croydon…
   The ship will call at several ports en route to the Bahamas.

4. CALL AWAY

1. To ask someone to leave somewhere or stop what they’re doing in order to go somewhere else, usually urgently.
   The doctor was called away during dinner to attend to a patient.
   She was called away from the meeting to take an urgent phone call.

5. CALL BACK

1. To return a telephone call
   I’m just in the middle of something. Can I call you back later?
2. To ask someone to return for another interview or audition for ajob
   We’d like to call you back for a second interview next week.
3. To go and see someone again, usually just briefly
   I’ll call back later when you have more time.

6. CALL BY

1. To visit someone briefly on your way to somewhere else
   Would it be ok to call by this afternoon on our way to the theatre?
   Let’s call by Alice’s place on our way back from town.

7. CALL DOWN

1. To telephone or shout to someone downstairs
   Call down to reception and ask for some more cups for the meeting.
2. To pray for something bad to happen
   I shall call down God’s wrath upon you!
3. To reprimand or tell off (old-fashioned)
   The teacher called me down for being late.

8. CALL FOR

1. To publicly demand or ask for an action to happen
   After the fire, the residents called for better health and safety procedures.
2. Something that is required or necessary
   The job calls for excellent communication and networking skills.
3. To deserve a particular action
   This good news calls for champagne!
4. To pick someone up from somewhere to then go somewhere else
   I’ll call for you at 8pm and we can go to the party together.                    

9. CALL FORTH (Old-fashioned, formal)

1. To summon, bring into action or existence
   Mary called forth all her courage and jumped from the plane.
   That film always calls forth happy memories.

10. CALL IN

1. To telephone somewhere (often a television or radio station to give your opinion, or your place of work)
   Call in to tell us about your funny pets and you could win £100!
   Sally called in to work sick today.
2. To ask someone to come and carry out a job
   We had to call in the electrician as all the lights went out.

11. CALL IN ON

1. To visit someone (usually for a short time)
   Let’s call in on your brother for a cup of tea on our way home.
   Shall we call in on Hannah to drop off those DVDs?

12. CALL OFF

1. To cancel a plan or event that is happening or will happen
   The rain meant we had to call off the tennis match.
   Due to the fading light, the police called off the search.
2. To tell an animal to stop attacking or chasing someone/something
   We had to get the owner to call off his dog.

13. CALL ON

1. To formally ask a person or organisation to do something
   The UN has called on America to act swiftly.
2. To use something that someone can offer you
   We may need to call on your excellent diplomacy skills in this meeting.
3. To summon or use a quality in yourself
   She called on all her years of experience to face the challenges ahead.
4. To visit someone (usually for a short time)
   We called on Maggie on our way to the local cinema.

14. CALL OUT

1. To shout or speak loudly in order to get someone’s attention
   I called out her name, but she couldn’t hear me over the music.
2. To ask someone to come and carry out a job/do something
   We had to call out the plumber when there was no water in our house.
   
3. To challenge or criticise someone
   She called out his actions, and he apologised.
   If I think you’ve done something wrong, I’ll to call you out (on it).

15. CALL ROUND

1. To visit someone
   Let’s call round on the Smiths later as we’ve been meaning to see them for ages.
   I was thinking of calling round later, if you’re going to be home.

16. CALL UP

1. To telephone someone
   I called up Tom yesterday as we hadn’t spoken in months.
2. To be summoned for military service
   I was called up when I was just 17!
3. To bring back memories
   That music calls up summers in the Lake District.
4. To use magic to try and make the spirit of a dead person appear
   One Halloween we tried to call up the ghost of my step-mother!
5. To open something on the computer, bring up (Brit. Eng)
   If you want to call up the document, we can go through it together.

17. CALL UPON

1. To formally ask a person or organisation to do something
   He was called upon to give a speech at the awards ceremony.
   The UN will call on Sweden to lead the negotiations.

Exercises: phrasal verbs with ‘call’