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Phrase(s): call (up)on someone
1. to visit someone. (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) • My mother’s friends call upon her every Wednesday. • Let’s call on Mrs. Franklin this afternoon. 2. to choose someone to respond, as in a classroom. • The teacher called upon me, but I was not ready to recite. • Please don’t call on me. I can’t remember a thing., Phrase(s): call on something
Fig. to draw on something, such as a particular quality or talent. • This project calls on all the creative skills you can gather together. • It calls on everything you’ve got., Phrase(s): call (up)on someone (for something)
to choose someone to do or to help with some particular task. (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) • Can I call upon you for help? • You can call on me at any time., Phrase(s): call on someone
to court someone. • Jim’s calling on the new cook over at the Browns’. • In the old days, a boy had to ask a girl’s father for permission to come call on her., Phrase(s): call (up)on someone (to do something)
to choose someone to do something. (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) • I call upon all of you to make your feelings known to your elected representatives. • I called on George for his help, but he refused.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
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Also, call upon. 1. Make a request, ask for, choose, as in We are calling upon you to run for chairman, or The teacher called on Joe to answer. [c. 1400] 2. Pay a brief visit, as in The salesman said he'd call on me in the morning. Shakespeare had this usage in Antony and Cleopatra (1:4): "I'll call upon you ere you go to bed." [Late 1500s]
American Heritage Idioms