call away
B1 neutral separable transitive
In simple words
Make someone stop what they are doing and go somewhere else because they are needed.
Literal meaning: To call someone away from their current position.
Meanings
1 B1 neutral
To summon someone away from their current activity because they are needed elsewhere.
"I'm sorry the meeting was so short — the director was called away by a family emergency."
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
Often used in passive constructions: 'She was called away on urgent business.' Common in professional or formal contexts. Implies the person had no real choice.
Commonly used with
business emergency meeting duty crisis appointment
Forms
Base
call away
I/you/we/they
3rd person
calls away
he/she/it
Past simple
called away
yesterday
Past participle
called away
have + pp
-ing form
calling away
continuous
Understand "call away" better
Try:
Real video examples
Video examples are being collected. Check back soon.
Synonyms
Want to master this phrasal verb?
Practice "call away" on Looplines