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

However, Yvonne Moynihan, Wizz Air UK managing director, and Neal McMahon, Ryanair COO, have both called on Rolfe to resign over the recurring technical issues. — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026

When Merchan called on brands to contribute, a medical apparel company mailed her 200 sets of new scrubs. — ABC News, 9 Sep. 2026

Emergency backups will be on the ice during skills work, will participate in practices when needed and may be called on to play if injuries or cap issues necessitate it. — Chris Johnston, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Since the two men emerged from a crowded June primary field, Hilton has repeatedly called on Becerra to agree to debates ahead of the November general election. — Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 8 Sep. 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