Definition of "call out"

call out

verb
third-person singular simple present calls out, present participle calling out, simple past and past participle called out
1. (transitive, idiomatic) To specify, especially in detail.
2. (transitive, idiomatic) To order into service; to summon into service.
  Quotations
  Ninety-nine Decision StreetNinety-nine ministers meetTo worry, worry, super scurryCall the troops out in a hurry
  1984, Nena, 99 Red Balloons (lyrics written by Kevin McAlea)
3. (intransitive, transitive) To yell out; to vocalize audibly; announce.
  Quotations
  You just call out my name / And you know wherever I am / I'll come running to see you again.
  1971, Carole King, “You’ve Got A Friend”, Tapestry, Ode Records
4. (transitive, idiomatic, colloquial) To challenge, criticize, denounce.
  Quotations
  He added: "We've always had spin, especially from Government. But this is not spin. This is dishonesty and so it's our rail media's urgent responsibility to call it out because non-specialist journalists across the country will report this and gradually these untruths will be accepted.
  2022 January 26, Paul Stephen, “Network News: Government's IRP claims condemned as "dishonest"”, in RAIL, number 949, page 7
5. (intransitive, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut) To contact one's workplace and announce that one is unable to attend work. Regionalism short for call out sick; much more commonly: call in sick.
  Quotations
  I had to call out from work. […] I barely ate yesterday. The only thing that stayed in my stomach was soup and crackers.
  2012, Earliecia J. Ebron, Regress
  I had to call out from work a few Saturdays to Dj at kid's party because they would normally start somewhere around 4:00 p.m.
  2015, Brasford Love, My Life: The Journey to Here
  On this particular day, I felt ill, mostly from exhaustion, and had to call out from work. This callout caused a stir and a display of animosity.
  2015, Pearley Rufus-Lusan, The Baby Boomer Nurse
noun
plural call outs
1. Alternative form of callout

Definition of "call out"

call out

verb

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

noun