call-up

1 of 2

noun

ˈkȯl-ˌəp 

1

: an order to report for military service

2

: a baseball player brought up to a major league team from the minor leagues

call up

2 of 2

verb

called up; calling up; calls up

transitive verb

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

Noun

The outfielder, 29, earned a call-up in August with the Los Angeles Dodgers and was used largely as a defensive replacement, logging only two at-bats in 18 regular-season game appearances. —Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026

The visitors then gradually pulled away against a Warriors team that had just 10 players available, including two recent call-ups from the G League. —Oc Register, 3 Mar. 2026

Verb

Piehsak has six brothers and sisters, and their mother is at a loss because her husband, the only one who can drive the heavy tractor, was called up to join a unit at the frontline. —John Vink, The Dial, 10 Mar. 2026

Flick has called up three La Masia players — Tommy Marques, Alvaro Cortes and Xavi Espart — as cover for the recent injuries, with Frenkie de Jong also out with a hamstring problem. —Pol Ballús, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1916, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1523, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for call-up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

Kids Definition

call-up

noun

ˈkȯ-ˌləp

: an order to report for military service