Definition

1. Verb (transitive):

   • To summon someone to return: To officially or formally request that a person return to a place, especially to their home country or to a job.
   • To request the return of a product: To ask consumers to return a product to the manufacturer or seller, typically because it is defective or dangerous.
   • To retrieve from memory: To recall or remember something; to bring a thought or memory back to one's mind.

2. Verb (intransitive):

   • To return a telephone call: To telephone someone again, especially in response to a message or a previous missed call.

Usage and Examples

• Verb (transitive - summon to return):

  • The company decided to call back the employees after the project was approved.
  • During the crisis, all diplomats were called back to the capital.

• Verb (transitive - request product return):

  • The car manufacturer had to call back thousands of vehicles due to a faulty brake system.
  • The store called back the contaminated food items immediately.

• Verb (transitive - retrieve from memory):

  • I cannot call back his name, even though I met him last week.
  • She tried to call back the details of the conversation.

• Verb (intransitive - return a phone call):

  • He's in a meeting; can you call back in 30 minutes?
  • I left a voicemail, but she hasn't called back yet.

Advanced Usage

• "call back to": This phrasal verb can be used to mean 'to cause someone to remember or think of something from the past'.
  • The design of the new model calls back to the classic cars of the 1960s. (It evokes memories of/ pays homage to the classic cars.)

Variants and Related Words

• Recall (verb): A close synonym with significant overlap, especially for the meanings 'to summon back' and 'to remember'. "Recall" is often more formal for product returns ("issue a recall").
• Callback (noun): The act of calling back. It can refer to a return phone call, a request for a product return, or a follow-up interview/audition.
  • I'm waiting for a callback about the job.
  • The software update was distributed after a callback of the initial version.

Synonyms

• Summon back: To order someone to return.
• Recollect: To remember something.
• Ring back / Phone back: To return a telephone call (more common in British English).
• Retrieve: To get or bring something back (can apply to memory).

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Call in: Similar to 'call back' for summoning people (e.g., ), but can also mean to telephone a place to give or receive information.
• Call up: Can mean to summon for military service or, informally, to recall a memory ().

Related Idioms

• Have a good call-back rate: (Business idiom) Refers to the percentage of potential customers who return a salesperson's call, indicating effectiveness.
• A callback audition: (Performance idiom) A second, more selective audition for actors, performers, or models.

Verb

1. summon to return
   • The ambassador was recalled to his country
   • The company called back many of the workers it had laid off during the recession
2. return or repeat a telephone call
   • I am busy right now--can you call back in an hour?
   • She left a message but the contractor never called back
3. recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
   • I can't remember saying any such thing
   • I can't think what her last name was
   • can you remember her phone number?
   • Do you remember that he once loved you?
   • call up memories
4. cause to be returned
   • recall the defective auto tires
   • The manufacturer tried to call back the spoilt yoghurt