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
James Folta Talks to Bookseller Angela Schwesnedl Angela Schwesnedl from Moon Palace Books in Minneapolis picked up my phone call on Saturday almost two hours to the minute after Alex Pretti was murdered in the street by ICE officers.
—
Literary Hub, 27 Jan. 2026
Maye knocked out the Broncos by scampering all alone to his left on a third-down naked bootleg, Josh McDaniels’ best play-call on a day of bad weather and good defense.
—Andrew Callahan, Hartford Courant, 26 Jan. 2026
Last week, a coalition of nearly 30 advocacy groups called on Google and Apple to remove X and the Grok app from their respective app stores.
—Emmet Lyons, CBS News, 26 Jan. 2026
Stefanik called on the presidents to resign.
—Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic, 26 Jan. 2026
In a telephone call on Saturday, Hennessey estimated that 50 of the paper’s 200 journalists are covering the story daily, doing everything from tracking protests and monitoring immigration enforcement action to covering the significant business impact on the city.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 25 Jan. 2026
The initial call on the field was an incomplete pass and an intentional grounding penalty on Stidham, because there was no eligible receiver in the area and the pass did not reach the line of scrimmage.
—Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2026
In remarks following the shooting, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey again called on federal immigration agents to leave the state.
—Mara H. Gottfried, Twin Cities, 24 Jan. 2026
The group called on the city to collect the current tax from parking lot scofflaws.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 24 Jan. 2026
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Literary Hub, 27 Jan. 2026
Maye knocked out the Broncos by scampering all alone to his left on a third-down naked bootleg, Josh McDaniels’ best play-call on a day of bad weather and good defense.
—Andrew Callahan, Hartford Courant, 26 Jan. 2026
Last week, a coalition of nearly 30 advocacy groups called on Google and Apple to remove X and the Grok app from their respective app stores.
—Emmet Lyons, CBS News, 26 Jan. 2026
Stefanik called on the presidents to resign.
—Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic, 26 Jan. 2026
In a telephone call on Saturday, Hennessey estimated that 50 of the paper’s 200 journalists are covering the story daily, doing everything from tracking protests and monitoring immigration enforcement action to covering the significant business impact on the city.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 25 Jan. 2026
The initial call on the field was an incomplete pass and an intentional grounding penalty on Stidham, because there was no eligible receiver in the area and the pass did not reach the line of scrimmage.
—Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2026
In remarks following the shooting, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey again called on federal immigration agents to leave the state.
—Mara H. Gottfried, Twin Cities, 24 Jan. 2026
The group called on the city to collect the current tax from parking lot scofflaws.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 24 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Call on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/call%20on. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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