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
Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Feb. 2026
That was a precautionary call-up, Gulutzan said, in case goalie Jake Oettinger does not return in time from Team USA’s celebrations.
—Lia Assimakopoulos, Dallas Morning News, 24 Feb. 2026
C.r. Walker, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2026
Sporting called up two players on short-term loans from Sporting KC II, academy products Shane Donovan and 15-year-old Zamir Loyo Reynaga.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 22 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for call-up
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Noun
With Freddy Fermin traded away to San Diego, the back-up catching job behind Salvador Pérez is open for the taking for 22-year-old prospect Carter Jensen, who had three homers in 20 games after a call-up last year.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Feb. 2026
That was a precautionary call-up, Gulutzan said, in case goalie Jake Oettinger does not return in time from Team USA’s celebrations.
—Lia Assimakopoulos, Dallas Morning News, 24 Feb. 2026
Verb
Calling those Indianapolis Indians games for three years helped prepare him for his call up, so to speak, to the Big Leagues when he was hired by the Marlins.
—C.r. Walker, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2026
Sporting called up two players on short-term loans from Sporting KC II, academy products Shane Donovan and 15-year-old Zamir Loyo Reynaga.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 22 Feb. 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 3 Mar. 2026.
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