call on
verb
called on; calling on; calls on
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
Thomason called on Black Kansas Citians to galvanize their voting power around two issues core to the future of democracy in Missouri.
—
Freddrell Green, Kansas City Star, 7 June 2026
Iran fired ballistic missiles and drones toward Bahrain and Kuwait that were intercepted early Saturday, Bahrain's government said, and called on Tehran to halt attacks on Gulf neighbors that test a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East conflict.
—Arkansas Online, 7 June 2026
House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora quickly condemned MacCormack and called on his to drop off the ballot.
—Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 6 June 2026
Climate Jobs Illinois, an umbrella group representing 15 unions, issued a statement on Friday calling on Pritzker to reverse his pause.
—Yash Roy, Fortune, 6 June 2026
Katie Walker, a former producer on Married at First Sight Australia, hasn't had contact with anyone since a phone call on Friday, May 22, the New South Wales (NSW) Police said in a news release.
—Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 6 June 2026
Rudi Garcia can call on some exciting young talent but the older, experienced core of Kevin De Bruyne, Thibaut Courtois, Romelu Lukaku and others will bear the bulk of the responsibilities.
—Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 5 June 2026
The former Minnesota Vikings receiver with the second-most touchdown receptions in NFL history has found his off-the-field calling on the boat, fishing for freshwater bass.
—CBS News, 5 June 2026
Towns answered the call on Wednesday.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 5 June 2026
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Freddrell Green, Kansas City Star, 7 June 2026
Iran fired ballistic missiles and drones toward Bahrain and Kuwait that were intercepted early Saturday, Bahrain's government said, and called on Tehran to halt attacks on Gulf neighbors that test a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East conflict.
—Arkansas Online, 7 June 2026
House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora quickly condemned MacCormack and called on his to drop off the ballot.
—Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 6 June 2026
Climate Jobs Illinois, an umbrella group representing 15 unions, issued a statement on Friday calling on Pritzker to reverse his pause.
—Yash Roy, Fortune, 6 June 2026
Katie Walker, a former producer on Married at First Sight Australia, hasn't had contact with anyone since a phone call on Friday, May 22, the New South Wales (NSW) Police said in a news release.
—Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 6 June 2026
Rudi Garcia can call on some exciting young talent but the older, experienced core of Kevin De Bruyne, Thibaut Courtois, Romelu Lukaku and others will bear the bulk of the responsibilities.
—Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 5 June 2026
The former Minnesota Vikings receiver with the second-most touchdown receptions in NFL history has found his off-the-field calling on the boat, fishing for freshwater bass.
—CBS News, 5 June 2026
Towns answered the call on Wednesday.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 5 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Call on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/call%20on. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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