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call back

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call back

 

1. to call [someone] again on the telephone at a later time. Call back later, please. I will call back when you are not so busy.

2. to return a telephone call received earlier. The note says I am to call back. What did you want? This is Bill Wilson calling back.

See also: back, call

call someone back

 

1. to call someone again on the telephone. Since she is not there, I will call her back in half an hour. Carl called back Mary after his meeting was over.

2. to return a telephone call to a person who had called earlier. I got his message; I will call him back tomorrow. I have to call back my friend now.

3. Go to call someone or something back.

See also: back, call

call someone or something back

to call out that someone or something should come back. As she left, the clerk called her back. The clerk called back the customer.

See also: back, call

call back

1. Ask someone to return; also, ask that something be returned, as in He passed the first audition and was waiting to be called back, or These screws are defective; the manufacturer has called them back. [Late 1500s]

2. call someone back. Telephone someone in return, as in May I call you back next week? [Early 1900s]

See also: back, call

call back

v.

1. To contact, or attempt to contact, someone who has called previously, especially by telephone: When I got home from work, I called back my mother, who had left a message on my answering machine. I left a message asking the manager to call me back as soon as possible. I'll call back tonight when your parents are home.

2. To summon someone back to a previous situation or location: Just as I started walking away, the teacher called me back. The workers who were laid off are hoping that management will call them back as soon as the economy improves.

3. To recall something defective for repair: The company has called back all models of this car built in 2002. After discovering that the toy was unsafe for small children, the company was forced to call it back.

See also: back, call