to call for help
59
1.6
- phrasal verb
- /kɔl fɔr hɛlp/
:
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- And I hear my friend calling for help, and I look and she has fallen in the water.
But they, they call for help and they decide they're going to launch the QRF.
- But they, they call for help and they decide they're going to launch the QRF.
- That actually happened to better intelligence sharing and being able to more quickly call for help.
- But you know, if you've convinced people to stay home and protect the NHS, the threshold at which they'll call for help is raised considerably.
- What that means is that when someone is being harmed by drugs, when they've when they are potentially overdosing, you can call for help.
- I feel like I feel like calling for help for some reason right now.
Examples
-
I just called for help.
-
We've got to get to the radio and call for help.
Fiction book (1998) -
Should we call for help?
-
Let's get to a phone and call for help.
-
If I can make it to that truck, we might be able to make it to safer ground and call for help.
-
"I wish we had someone we could call for help, close enough that it might do some good," Angie said.
Fiction book (1998) -
Several minutes after arrival, the new inmate began to call for help and complain of difficulty breathing.
Academic text (2007) -
I'm calling for help.
-
She's about to call for help when the indicator stops flashing.
Fiction book (1997) -
In an emergency, it is crucial to call for help immediately.
Synonyms
178
1.6
Phone 911 in the United States and Canada to get immediate help from police, fire, or ambulance
100
2.7
To make a serious request for help or support
98
1.0
To tell someone you need support with a task or problem
30
2.0
Ask someone for support when you face a problem
28
2.0
To call emergency help in the United States by phone using the number 911
26
4.1
To urgently need something
7
2.7
To shout loudly when you need help right away
3
4.1
To need something urgently
1
3.1
To ask people or groups for help when you need it
1
1.0
Call out loudly to ask someone to come to you when you are in danger
1
3.0
Make a loud high sound by blowing through your lips to call for help
1
2.3
Call for police, fire, or ambulance help by phone in the UK
How Urgent
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'call' (utter loudly) + 'for' (seeking/purpose) + 'help' (assistance) yields 'ask for assistance, often loudly or urgently.' This is a literal, cross-linguistically common construction, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The phrase call for help comes from the clear image of a person loudly shouting the word help to bring others when danger arrives. So call for help means 'to ask urgently for help', whether by voice or by phone.