calls
plural of “call” — a telephone connection
An inflected form of call · plural.
How often you will meet it
Rank 2,056 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 8,676 times across 173,849 chapters — 0.004% of every word in the library.
What it means
noun
- a telephone connection also: phone call, telephone call she reported several anonymous callshe placed a phone call to London
- a special disposition (as if from a divine source) to pursue a particular course he was disappointed that he had not heard the Call
- a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition also: cry, outcry, yell, shout, vociferation the speaker was interrupted by loud cries from the rear of the audience
- a demand especially in the phrase "the call of duty" also: claim the call of duty
- the characteristic sound produced by a bird also: birdcall, birdsong, song a bird will not learn its song unless it hears it at an early age
- a brief social visit senior professors' wives no longer make afternoon calls on newcomersthe characters in Henry James' novels are forever paying calls on each other, usually in the parlor of some residence
calls in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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I like that ancient Saxon phrase, which calls The burial-ground God's-Acre!
The Complete Poetical Works of Henry · Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Chapter 1
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The next time he calls, you will be perfectly cold and indifferent.
The Picture of Dorian Gray · Oscar Wilde · Chapter 1
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Thou speakest true, though I would rather stay, Our duty calls, so to the hills, away!
The White Christmas and other Merry · Walter Ben Hare · Chapter 1
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Telemachus goes from the swineherd’s hut to the city, and calls his guest, Theoclymenus, to the palace.
The Odyssey of Homer · 751? BCE-651? BCE Homer · Chapter 1
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It was a heroism no less than that which calls for volunteers for India, Africa and the Isles of the sea.
The Red Record Tabulated Statistics · Ida B. Wells-Barnett · Chapter 1