student asking question

What does “call someone out” mean?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

In this context, "call someone out" means to criticize or blame someone from having a certain behavior or action. Ex: He called out his friend from not telling the truth to him. Ex: The student was called out of cheating during exam. "Call out" can also mean to find someone for help, especially during emergencies. Ex: Two drunk men started to fight with each other, so the waiter had to call out the police. Ex: The toilet started to backup so we had to call out the plumber.

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