call someone's number

Verb

call someone's number (third-person singular simple present calls someone's number, present participle calling someone's number, simple past and past participle called someone's number)

1. To be assigned to carry the ball at the start of a play.
   • So on the first play, I asked the quarterback to call my number on an end sweep.2002, Rich Wolfe, Kurt Warner: And the Last Shall Be First, →ISBN, page 229
   • Billy was shocked; he didn't get that call once during spring practice, and now, in the spring game, they want to call his number on the first play.2011, W. S. Gaines, Blood on a Pew: Overcoming Tragedy Through the Truth of Eternity, →ISBN
2. (broadly, idiomatic) To focus on someone, asking them to prove themselves.
   • I am glad to have that comment, Sir. I think you have about called our number on that.1969, Annmarie Hauck Walsh, The urban challenge to government
   • "I'm sure about this one," I said. "I'm starting the preparations." “Ok, I'm calling your number on this one. I got your word, and everyone else is out of the way.”2001, Stuart Kaufman, Engine Parts, →ISBN, page 60
3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see call, number.
   • He called her number on his cell phone.2005, Wanjiru Waithaka, The Unbroken Spirit, →ISBN, page 218