past and past participle
Used to say that someone telephoned another person.
I called you yesterday.
She has called the doctor.
American English
How to pronounce called
verbA1Very common word
KAWLD
/kʰɔld̚/
One syllable.
Form of call
Called is both the past form and the past participle of call.
Used to say that someone telephoned another person.
What to listen for
“Called” is commonly pronounced /kɔɫd/. In some U.S. accents, the vowel sounds more like /ɑ/, so you may hear /kɑɫd/; both are correct.
Common pronunciation/kʰɔɫd̚/
Common U.S. variant/kʰɑɫd̚/
Meanings & examples
past and past participle
Used to say that someone gave a person or thing a name or used a particular name for it.
They called their baby Emma.
The store is called Maple Mart.
past and past participle
Used to say that someone spoke or shouted to get attention or ask someone to come.
I called to my brother from the yard.
She called his name across the room.
past and past participle
Used to say that someone officially asked people to come together for a meeting or event.
The manager called a meeting for Monday.
The president called an election.
Useful expressions
to telephone someone again, especially after they have tried to contact you
I'll call you back after lunch.
to publicly ask for something, or to require something
The job calls for patience.
to cancel a planned event
They called off the game because of rain.