call upon

phrase

1

: require, oblige

may be called upon to do several jobs

2

: to make a demand on : depend on

universities are called upon to produce trained professionals

Examples of call upon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Burnett show called upon him to design everything from evening gowns to wacky character clothing. — Maureen Lee Lenker, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026

The list is compiled by the Criminal Investigative Division and the Office of Public Affairs at FBI Headquarters, which calls upon all 56 field offices to submit candidates, according to the FBI history. — Josh Meyer, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2026

The eight-term lawmaker plans to call upon Larry Hogan, the former two-term centrist Republican governor who left office in 2023 with high bipartisan approval ratings, to get more involved. — Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2026

Arteta could then call upon Guimaraes, Mikel Merino and Martin Zubimendi. — Thom Harris, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for call upon

• aileron
• antiphon
• autobahn
• carillon
• castellan
• celadon
• cephalon
• cynodon
• denouement
• deuteron
• echelon
• epsilon