From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcall up phrasal verb1 TELEPHONE especially American English informal to telephone someonecall somebody ↔ up He called me up to tell me about it. I’m going to call up and cancel my subscription.2 TD call something ↔ up if you call up information on a computer, you make the computer show it to you I called up their website, but it didn’t have the information I was looking for.3 PM call somebody ↔ up British English to officially order someone to join the army, navy, or air force SYN draft American English I was called up three months after war broke out.4 DS call somebody ↔ up to choose someone for a national sports team → call-up Hurst was called up for the game against Mexico.5 SHOW/LET somebody SEE something call something ↔ up to produce something or make it appear She can call up the spirits of the dead. → call→ See Verb tablecall-upˈcall-up noun [countable] British English 1 PMan order to join the army, navy etc SYN draft American English He got his call-up papers in July.2 an opportunity or invitation to play for a professional sports team, especially a national onecall-up to Stewart’s recent call-up to the Wales squad
Examples from the Corpus
call-up• Desperate to impress after his call-up to Sven Goran Eriksson's squad, the battling midfielder tried to dictate the attacks.• Pears, 30, has been a key figure in Boro's hectic season and thoroughly deserves his call-up.• This was his first visit since his call-up and it hadn't changed at all.• So before my call-up I went to old Mr Grover in Darrowby and he painstakingly did all that was necessary.• And as time goes by, your staff will likely decrease, for the age limits of call-up will rise.• The call-up is drastic, with farmers leaving their crops, and businesses crippled as their men go.call-up papers• It was nearly two months since her call-up papers had come; two months since S-Sugar had not come back.• He had protested strongly when her call-up papers came.• Her call-up papers had come and she must go away.• Dmitry Sokolov, a Jehovah's Witness, had been imprisoned between 1988 and 1990 for refusing his call-up papers.• But my call-up papers came eventually.• The Ministry of Defence served call-up papers on 390 army reservists.From Longman Business Dictionarycall up phrasal verb1[intransitive, transitive] call somebody → up to telephone someoneSeveral customers called up to complain.2[transitive] call something → upCOMPUTING if you call up information on a computer, you make the computer show it to youHere’s how to call up the latest Stock Exchange prices. → call→ See Verb table 