call on

verb

called on; calling on; calls on

transitive verb

1

: to call upon

Is there anyone you can call on in an emergency?

2

: to elicit a response from (someone, such as a student)

the teacher called on her first

3

US, informal : to directly criticize (someone) for (something, such as bad behavior)

She's incredibly rude, but no one ever calls her on it.

Examples of call on in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In comments posted on X earlier this month, Zelenskyy called on the country’s partners to ramp up sanctions pressure on Moscow and provide Kyiv with further air defense support. — Sam Meredith, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026

TikTok and YouTube also did not respond to requests for comment, despite Meta publicly calling on both companies to adopt the same restrictions in an open letter posted the same day as the settlement. — Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026

The company also called on competing social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube to follow suit. — Steve Kopack, NBC news, 26 Aug. 2026

Last year, Rodgers broke his wrist and the Steelers called on Rudolph. — Mike Defabo, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for call on

• anton
• argon
• axon
• baronne
• baryon
• baton
• boron
• buisson
• bygone
• capon
• cardon
• chiffon