Word.ws English Dictionary

calling out

calling out is the present participle and gerund of call out.

Meaning of call out

Verb

call out (third-person singular simple present calls out, present participle calling out, simple past and past participle called out)

  1. (idiomatic, transitive) To specify, especially in detail.
    • They call out 304 stainless steel in the drawing, but the part was made from aluminum.
  2. (idiomatic, transitive) To order into service; to summon into service.
    • The Governor called out the National Guard.
    Synonyms:
    summon
  3. (intransitive, transitive) To yell out; to vocalize audibly; announce.
    • 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. (archaic, transitive) To challenge (someone) to a duel.
  5. (slang, transitive) To challenge (someone) to a fight.
  6. (colloquial, idiomatic, transitive) To criticize or denounce (someone); to bring up previously unspoken criticisms about (someone); to point out (someone's) faults.
    • He was very insulting. Finally Jack called him out and shut him up.

See all 7 meanings of call out

Questions about calling out

What is calling out the present participle and gerund of?
Calling out is the present participle and gerund of call out.

Words near calling out in the dictionary

  1. calling names
  2. calling off
  3. calling off the dogs
  4. calling on the carpet
  5. calling onto the carpet
  6. calling out
  7. calling out of one's name
  8. calling out sick
  9. calling outta one's name
  10. calling over
  11. calling parties

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: calling out (page history and authors); call out (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.

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Cite this entry: “calling out.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/calling_out. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.