calling
UK/ˈkɔːlɪŋ/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
Northumbria/kaːlɪn/
calling is the present participle and gerund of call.
Noun
calling (plural callings)
- A strong urge (to do some particular thing with or in one's life, for example to become religious, to help the poor, or to be an entertainer).
- A job or occupation.
- Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their...2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70
Meaning of call
Verb
call (third-person singular simple present calls, present participle calling, simple past and past participle called or (archaic) call'd)
- To request, summon, or beckon.
- That person is hurt; call for help!
- To cry or shout.
- "Supper's ready," called Dad from the kitchen.
- To utter in a loud or distinct voice.
- to call the roll of a military company
- To contact by telephone.
- Why don’t you call me in the morning?
- Synonyms:
- drop a line, ring, get on the horn, give someone a ring, give someone a bell, telephone, call up, dial up, give someone a buzz, give someone a call
- To rouse from sleep; to awaken.
- Take not away the Taper, leaue it burning: / And if thou canſt awake by foure o’th’clock, / I prythee call me: Sleepe hath ceiz’d me wholly.1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
- To request that one's band play (a particular tune).
- They called I Got Rhythm, and turned to me again for a solo, and I said what?1997, Saxophone Journal
Synonyms of calling
Forms of calling
| plural | callings |
|---|
Origin of calling
Inherited from Middle English callyng, kallyng, kalland, from Old English *cealliende and Old Norse kallandi, equivalent to call + -ing.
From Middle English calling, callynge, equivalent to call + -ing.
Words formed from calling
Phrases with calling
- calling in
- calling it
- calling to
- calling up
- calling for
- calling off
- calling out
- calling a go
- calling away
- calling back
- calling bell
- calling card
81 more phrasesFewer phrases
- calling crab
- calling down
- calling name
- calling roll
- calling time
- calling upon
- came calling
- cold calling
- come calling
- drop calling
- flat calling
- name calling
- roll calling
- snap calling
- booty calling
- calling a cab
- calling a lid
- calling ahead
- calling bells
- calling cards
- calling crabs
- calling forth
- calling names
- calling round
- comes calling
- prank calling
- voice calling
- who's calling
- calling a halt
- calling around
- coming calling
- pocket calling
- smooth calling
- calling collect
- calling in sick
- calling it even
- calling parties
- calling station
- calling to mind
- calling to task
- calling it a day
- calling it quits
- calling out sick
- calling stations
- calling the tune
- calling to order
- calling together
- calling it stumps
- calling the shots
- effectual calling
- calling an audible
- calling into doubt
- calling it a night
- calling to account
- calling to the bar
- calling off the dogs
- pointing and calling
- calling it half a day
- calling on the carpet
- calling a spade a spade
- calling onto the carpet
- calling someone's bluff
- calling a spade a shovel
- calling outta one's name
- calling someone's number
- calling a shovel a shovel
- calling balls and strikes
- calling it an early night
- calling it as one sees it
- calling out of one's name
- calling 'em as one sees 'em
- cat calling the kettle black
- pot calling the kettle black
- calling them as one sees them
- voice calling in the wilderness
- voices calling in the wilderness
- calling someone every name in the book
- calling a spade a spade, not a big spoon
- calling a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel
- calling someone everything but a child of God
- is that what the kids are calling it these days
Words that rhyme with calling
Questions about calling
- What does calling mean?
- Calling means a strong urge (to do some particular thing with or in one's life, for example to become religious, to help the poor, or to be an entertainer).
- What is calling the present participle and gerund of?
- Calling is the present participle and gerund of call.
- What part of speech is calling?
- Calling is a noun.
- How do you pronounce calling?
- Calling is pronounced /ˈkɔːlɪŋ/ (UK).
- What is the plural of calling?
- The plural of calling is callings.
Words near calling in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: calling (page history and authors); call (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-calling.ogg.
Cite this entry: “calling.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/calling. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.