call upon (someone or something)
call upon (someone or something)
1. To choose, request, obligate, order, or demand someone to do something. Yesterday the president called upon world leaders everywhere to promote open and fair trade between countries. He was called upon to give testimony in court.
2. To visit someone. I went to the East Coast last week to call upon my aunt.
3. To access or make use of some helpful resource; to draw on something. I had to call upon all of my experience to fix the situation. The company has such vast financial resources to call upon that they are all but impervious to outside threats.
See also: call, upon
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
call upon
v.
1. To order or require someone to do something: I call upon you to tell the truth.
2. To make a demand or a series of demands on something: Social institutions are often called upon to assist the poor.
3. To visit someone: I called upon an old friend when I was in New York.
4. To make use of some resource; draw on something: I knew the task would call upon my every resource.
See also: call, upon
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
- call upon
- prefer
- prefer (someone or something) to (someone or something else)
- prefer to
- look for (someone or something) high and low
- look for high and low
- not hear of something
- hear of
- hear of (someone or something)
- choose from