English Meaning & Definitions
Available to be summoned for work or duty, especially during hours outside of a regular schedule.
- “The pediatric surgeon is on call every third weekend to handle emergencies.”
- “Our IT support team remains on call throughout the holiday period to ensure server stability.”
English Synonyms & Near Equivalents
English Antonyms & Opposites
Comprehensive Thesaurus Breakdown
Compare formal, informal, literary synonyms and register nuances for “on call”.
The phrase originates from the literal requirement for a professional to be reachable by a 'call'—originally via telephone or pager—to report for duty immediately. It became a standardized term in the mid-20th century, particularly within the medical and emergency service sectors, to describe a state of readiness outside of standard shift hours.
Think of a phone: you are waiting for a 'call' to start working.
Frequently Asked Questions About “on call”
1. What is the meaning of “on call” in English?
In English, on call (idiom) is defined as: “Available to be summoned for work or duty, especially during hours outside of a regular schedule.”.
2. How do you use “on call” in a sentence?
“The pediatric surgeon is on call every third weekend to handle emergencies.”
3. What are English synonyms of “on call”?
4. What is the etymology and word origin of “on call”?
The phrase originates from the literal requirement for a professional to be reachable by a 'call'—originally via telephone or pager—to report for duty immediately. It became a standardized term in the mid-20th century, particularly within the medical and emergency service sectors, to describe a state of readiness outside of standard shift hours.
🇬🇧More English Words to English
View all English words →The base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.
A specific duration of time equal to one hour and forty-six minutes and twelve seconds.
The cardinal number equal to one thousand million (1,000,000,000), expressed in scientific notation as 10^9.
A specific duration of time equivalent to one hour and forty-six minutes.