Learn English – Can ‘call on’ mean pay a short visit to someone

phrase-usage

According to the definition 2 in this dictionary:

  1. phrasal verb.
    If you call on someone or call upon someone, you pay them a short visit.
    Sofia was intending to call on Miss Kitts. [VERB PARTICLE noun]

However, when I tried to use it into practice, I said the sentence "They will call on us" to my friends – some of them are native speakers – and it turned out that no one understood it. I guess the problem could be the way I use it was wrong.

So, how should the phrase call on be used to mean pay a short visit as the dictionary indicates. Is the phrase call on commonly used?

Best Answer

There are two possible meanings of call on: the first meaning is still widely used in religious publications, but the second (the one that you refer to) is quite old fashioned, like calling cards.

We might call on the Wyatts,” he suggested. “They have a cottage not far from here.” - Nancy Drew: the call of the old album (1947)

It is possible to infer from NGram searches that call on declined in usage from 1940 to 1980 in the US: in the UK, the decline started in 1960 and continues to this day. This decline may be related to the introduction of the telephone, and the use of the word call related to telephone conversations.

I would only expect to see call on used in a period drama. In modern usage the word visit might be used in a formal setting, an phrases like drop in, drop by and pop in are used in informal settings.

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