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

Since the charges surfaced, Aurora Mayor John Laesch has called on Johnson to resign from her seat on the board, and from her position as executive director of the Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry. — Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026

Officials with the Muscogee County Sheriff's Office say deputies were called on Halloween to the grocery store on Macon Road after someone reported a customer pulling a firearm on another customer. — Dan Raby, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026

Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark called on the suspects to do the right thing and surrender. — Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 31 Oct. 2026

Another particularly contentious ad released last month featured two local politicians calling on Vang to be fired. — Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 30 Oct. 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