1
: an order to report for military service
2
: a baseball player brought up to a major league team from the minor leagues
called up; calling up; calls up
1
: to summon together (as for a united effort)
call up all his forces for the attack
2
: to bring to mind : evoke
3
: to summon before an authority
4
a
: to summon for active military duty
b
: to bring up from a minor league to a major league baseball team
5
: to bring forward for consideration or action
6
: to retrieve from the memory of a computer especially for display and user interaction
Examples of call-up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 27 Mar. 2026
The youngster was paired with fellow call-up Jorian Donovan, with both playing limited minutes.
—Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026
The outfielder’s development was likely impacted by being called up as a 21-year-old with barely any playing time in Triple-A under his belt at the time of his promotion.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for call-up
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Noun
And after his September call-up, Carter Jensen actually compiled the sixth-best fWAR of any catcher.
—Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 27 Mar. 2026
The youngster was paired with fellow call-up Jorian Donovan, with both playing limited minutes.
—Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
Verb
The forward from Oakville, Ontario, was called up to the Chicago Blackhawks in December in response to injuries to Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar.
—Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026
The outfielder’s development was likely impacted by being called up as a 21-year-old with barely any playing time in Triple-A under his belt at the time of his promotion.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for call-up
Cite this Entry
“Call-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/call-up. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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