To order someone or something to stop attacking or aggressing: The police called off the dogs after the suspect surrendered. The commander called his troops off when the enemy retreated.

This construction has a structure and meaning similar to the Standard English use of call oneself with a noun phrase or adjective, as in He calls himself a dancer or She calls herself intelligent.

To cancel or postpone something: We called off the trip when two of people who were supposed to go became sick. The union called the strike off after the management gave in to their …

to summon away; to divert; as, to call off the attention; to call off workmen from their employment.

If someone calls off the dogs or calls off their dogs, they stop criticizing or attacking someone or encouraging other people to criticize or attack someone. Lenders will be ordered to call off the …

Mom calls the shots for Thanksgiving dinner, so you better get her approval for any dish you want to bring. I've learned that the receptionist often calls the shots in a doctor's office.

to bring something to someone's notice; to make someone recognize some fact. May I call your attention to the sign on the door? He called to our attention the notice on the wall.

To convoke or summon by public announcement; to request the appearance and participation of several people—such as a call of a jury to serve, a roll call, a call of public election, or a call of …

In the bond markets, a call is an issuer's right to redeem bonds it has sold before the date they mature. With preferred stocks, the issuer may call the stock to retire it, or remove it from the …

call The 'after hours' responsibility that a physician has for evaluating already hospitalized Pts or admitting new Pts to a particular service or to the hospital per se.