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Glite Dictionary
📢 To request ⚠️ To require
to call for

to call for

369 3.3
Ask people in public to give or do something
  • phrasal verb
  • /kɔl fɔr/
translation icon : pedir
  • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. leads a march calling for equality for African-Americans.
  • call for more
  • a resolution calling for
  • call for reform

Bullard have always been calling for front loading rates.

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Examples

  • The activists called for urgent action to address climate change during the rally.

  • For years, experts have been calling for safer commercial fishing boats and better emergency training for crewmembers.

    Academic text (2011)

  • At one point, you guys, they were calling for snow in LA.

  • Let's get to a phone and call for help.

    Broken Arrow (1996)

  • At this point, I'd like to call for volunteers.

    Scanners (1981)

  • President Obama called for the removal of Gaddafi.

  • After the recent events, the community leaders openly called for more support from the government.

  • In his speech, the mayor called for better funding for local schools to improve education.

Synonyms

to ask
vsto call for
∞ 1.0

To request that someone do something or meet a requirement

is made publicly to many people rather than to one person
to ask for
vsto call for
∞ 1.0

To tell someone you want or need something

is a public demand for action or provision rather than a private wish
to request
vsto call for
∞ 1.0

To ask for something politely or formally

is a public demand seeking action or provision rather than a polite appeal
to beg
vsto call for
417 1.0

Ask someone very seriously and urgently for something

is made publicly to ask for action or provision rather than pleading privately

How Forceful

to demand
943 2.7
to call for
369 3.3
to insist
∞ 2.8
to ask
∞ 1.0
to suggest
∞ 1.6

Surface Forms

call for infinitive
called for past
called for past participle
calling for present participle
calls for third person singular

Morphology

call + for

The sense 'to require' is partly inferable because 'call' can mean 'to ask/request' and 'for' marks the thing being requested, so one can interpret 'this calls for X' as 'this situation asks/demands X'. However, the mapping is metaphorical (a situation 'asking' for something) and not strictly compositional or fully predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure, so it is best described as only partially transparent.

Etymology

Call for comes from the image of someone loudly calling out a public request. A town crier or leader would call for help or volunteers, and so when people 'call for' something today they mean 'to ask' or 'demand' it.