call down

verb

called down; calling down; calls down

transitive verb

1

: to cause or entreat to descend

call down a blessing

2

: reprimand

called me down for being late

Synonyms

• baste
• bawl out
• berate
• castigate
• chastise
• chew out
• dress down
• flay
• hammer
• jaw
• keelhaul
• lambaste
• lambast
• lecture
• rag
• rail (at or against)
• rant (at)
• rate
• ream (out)
• rebuke
• reprimand
• reproach
• scold
• score
• tongue-lash
• upbraid

Example Sentences

I was called down by my supervisor for not catching the accounting error sooner.

Recent Examples on the Web

That program could call down billions in federal matching funds, but the governor has refused to support expansion for lack of local funding. —Kyle Whitmire, al, 6 Apr. 2023

And call down their wrath upon the elite! —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 20 Mar. 2023

But those usually had relatively evident functions: to call down the favor of a god, or to assert a noble pedigree, or to show off a new wife. —Blake Gopnik, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2023

If caller ID is able to identify spam, why doesn’t Verizon, my carrier, shut the call down? —WSJ, 26 May 2021

The Jews no longer call down an eternal curse upon themselves and their descendants. —Dominic Green, WSJ, 12 Sep. 2022

For most of his time managing the Dodgers, Dave Roberts rarely had to call down to the bullpen before the ninth inning. —Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2022

The nurses are supposed to call down to the CO, and the CO is supposed to escort you to get your medicine. —Beth Schwartzapfel, Curbed, 5 Oct. 2021

Confronted with a sudden threat, FARA would use its guns to suppress the enemy, make a clean getaway, and then call down missiles or artillery strikes. —Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 12 Mar. 2021

See More

Word History

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1