Call Back (Verb)
Meaning 1
Return or repeat a telephone call; "I am busy right now--can you call back in an hour?"; "She left a message but the contractor never called back".
Classification
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing.
Examples
- I'm on another call right now, can you call back in five minutes.
- If the customer left a message and you didn't get a chance to call back, follow up with an email.
- She tried calling the plumber multiple times but he never called back.
- If the connection was lost during the interview, we'll call back in a few hours to finish the conversation.
- The store owner asked me to call back next week to confirm the delivery date of the order.
Hypernyms
Related Words
Meaning 2
Recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection; "I can't remember saying any such thing"; "I can't think what her last name was"; "can you remember her phone number?"; "Do you remember that he once loved you?"; "call up memories".
Classification
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting.
Examples
- She struggled to call back the details of her grandmother's recipe that had been passed down through generations.
- As he looked at the old photograph, memories began to call back and he remembered his childhood days.
- He tried to call back the words of the song, but it had been years since he last heard it.
- The smell of freshly baked cookies helped her call back memories of her summer at her aunt's house.
- After the documentary, he couldn't call back the name of the lead actor in the cult classic movie from the 70s.
Synonyms
Hyponyms
Meaning 3
Summon to return; "The ambassador was recalled to his country"; "The company called back many of the workers it had laid off during the recession".
Classification
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing.
Examples
- The ambassador was recalled to his country after his comment on the social media caused an outrage.
- To address the shortage of staff the restaurant owner called back several former employees who were laid off due to the pandemic lockdown.
- In an attempt to avoid customer backlash the company decided to call back nearly a thousand employees that were let go the previous month.
- The politician was called back to the capital to participate in an emergency meeting.
- She forgot to unplug the iron before leaving the house, and her husband had to call her back to remind her to do so.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Related Words
Meaning 4
Cause to be returned; "recall the defective auto tires"; "The manufacturer tried to call back the spoilt yoghurt".
Classification
Verbs of buying, selling, owning.
Examples
- The pharmacy tried to call back all the medication due to potential contamination risks.
- The government initiated a process to call back thousands of faulty vehicle airbags.
- The electronics company had to issue a statement to call back all the defective smartphones.
- The retail store decided to call back products from the shelf until further testing could be done.
- The manufacturer made efforts to call back all the tainted food products from shelves nationwide.