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
Trump has issued an executive order calling on McMahon to kill the Education Department, but doing so requires sixty votes in the Senate—for now, an impossibility.
—
Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
New York gas pipeline In another twist, both Fazio and McCaughey have publicly called on Lamont to sue New York state in order to obtain more natural gas for Connecticut in an attempt to reduce sky-high electricity prices.
—Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 19 Apr. 2026
All the main opposition parties have called on Starmer to resign.
—Jill Lawless, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2026
Hunter Goodman followed with another double, and Tyler Freeman drove him in with a soft single to left before Roberts called on Dreyer.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 19 Apr. 2026
The order also calls on federal agencies to rethink enforcement of federal laws for such drugs that are proving promising in clinical research.
—Daniel Payne, STAT, 18 Apr. 2026
Trump's order calls on the Department of Health and Human Services to direct at least $50 million to states that have enacted or are developing programs to advance psychedelic drugs for serious mental illness.
—ABC News, 18 Apr. 2026
But leaders in New York — where more than two-thirds of NJ Transit’s World Cup passengers are expected to board — have blasted the price, calling on FIFA to subsidize the cost of transportation to the games.
—Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 17 Apr. 2026
The Suffolk County Police Department said that police responded to a 911 call on Monday, April 13, about a body floating in the Long Island Sound off Lloyd Harbor Road.
—David Chiu, PEOPLE, 17 Apr. 2026
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Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
New York gas pipeline In another twist, both Fazio and McCaughey have publicly called on Lamont to sue New York state in order to obtain more natural gas for Connecticut in an attempt to reduce sky-high electricity prices.
—Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 19 Apr. 2026
All the main opposition parties have called on Starmer to resign.
—Jill Lawless, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2026
Hunter Goodman followed with another double, and Tyler Freeman drove him in with a soft single to left before Roberts called on Dreyer.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 19 Apr. 2026
The order also calls on federal agencies to rethink enforcement of federal laws for such drugs that are proving promising in clinical research.
—Daniel Payne, STAT, 18 Apr. 2026
Trump's order calls on the Department of Health and Human Services to direct at least $50 million to states that have enacted or are developing programs to advance psychedelic drugs for serious mental illness.
—ABC News, 18 Apr. 2026
But leaders in New York — where more than two-thirds of NJ Transit’s World Cup passengers are expected to board — have blasted the price, calling on FIFA to subsidize the cost of transportation to the games.
—Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 17 Apr. 2026
The Suffolk County Police Department said that police responded to a 911 call on Monday, April 13, about a body floating in the Long Island Sound off Lloyd Harbor Road.
—David Chiu, PEOPLE, 17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Call on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/call%20on. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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