call in
2 meanings
ask an expert or professional to come and help
What does "call in" mean in this sense?
Examples
- The company called in a cybersecurity expert after the data breach.
- The situation was so serious that they had to call the army in.
- A team of specialists was called in to assess the structural damage to the bridge.
How to use it
The most common pattern — the person or group being summoned follows the phrasal verb directly.
The hospital decided to call in a specialist after the initial tests were inconclusive.
When the object is a short noun phrase, it can naturally sit between 'call' and 'in'.
The damage was so extensive that they called the engineers in straight away.
When the object is a pronoun, it must go between 'call' and 'in' — you cannot say 'call in them'.
The negotiation had stalled, so we called them in to help find a solution.
The passive form is natural and common, especially in journalistic or professional contexts to describe experts being brought into a situation.
A team of financial auditors was called in to review the company's accounts.
Modal constructions are very common with this phrasal verb, reflecting the sense that outside help has become necessary.
The local fire crew couldn't handle the blaze alone and had to call in additional support.
Common Collocations
Common Mistakes
This sense of 'call in' always requires a human or group as a direct object — someone being summoned. If there is no such object, you are likely using a different sense. 'Call in sick', for example, means to phone your workplace to report that you are ill and has no person being summoned.
When the object is a pronoun such as 'them' or 'her', it must come between 'call' and 'in', not after 'in'.
'Call in' suggests bringing an expert into an existing situation to deal with a problem already unfolding. 'Call out' more often implies dispatching someone to a specific location or in direct response to an emergency. The two are not always interchangeable.
Usage
This phrasal verb is neutral and works in both spoken and written English. It is common in news reports and professional contexts when describing organisations or people bringing in outside expertise to deal with a problem.
phone your workplace, especially to say you won't be coming to work
Sense 2: What does "call in" mean?
Examples
- He called in sick on Friday and missed the whole meeting.
- She's called in three times this month — her manager is getting worried.
- Are you really going to call in sick just because the weather is bad?
How to use it
The most common pattern — an adjective follows the particle to describe the reason or condition the caller is reporting.
He called in sick on Monday and spent the day resting at home.
Use 'to' followed by a workplace noun when you want to name the place being contacted, without necessarily giving a reason.
She called in to the office first thing in the morning to let her manager know.
When the context makes the meaning clear, you can use 'call in' alone without any adjective or destination.
He didn't show up for his shift — he called in but didn't say why.
Time expressions like 'at the last minute' or 'without warning' are often added to say when or how the absence was reported.
Two members of staff called in at the last minute, which left the team short-handed.
Common Collocations
Common Mistakes
After 'call in', you need an adjective like 'sick' or 'tired' — not a noun. Saying 'call in sickness' is a very common error and sounds unnatural in English.
'Call off' means to cancel an event and always needs an object (e.g. 'call off the meeting'). 'Call in' in this sense is intransitive — it never takes an object and refers specifically to telling your workplace you won't be coming in.
In this sense, 'call in' is intransitive — it never takes a direct object. The only thing that can follow it is an adjective (like 'sick') or a prepositional phrase (like 'to work'). Don't insert a noun or pronoun between or after the verb and particle.
Usage
This phrasal verb is more common in American English; British and Australian speakers often prefer 'phone in sick' or 'ring in sick'. All varieties are neutral in register and suitable for most workplace conversations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does 'call in' always suggest there's a serious problem?
Not always serious, but there is usually a sense that the people already involved can't fully handle the situation on their own. You might call in a plumber for a leaking pipe or call in a consultant for business advice — neither needs to be a crisis. The key idea is that outside expertise or help is needed.
What kinds of people or groups can you 'call in'?
Almost any person or group that provides specialist help or authority: experts, consultants, doctors, the police, investigators, engineers, lawyers, reinforcements, and so on. The object should always be a person or organisation — not a thing. You wouldn't say 'call in a report'; you'd call in the person who writes it.
Can 'call in' be used in the passive?
Yes, the passive is very natural with this phrasal verb and is especially common in news articles and formal writing. For example: 'A crisis team was called in to manage the situation.' It works well when the focus is on the expert or authority being brought in, rather than on who made the decision.
Does 'call in' have other meanings? I've seen it used differently.
Yes, 'call in' has a couple of other meanings in English. It can mean to telephone somewhere (as in 'call in sick' or calling in to a radio show), and in British English it can mean to make a brief visit. The sense covered here — summoning an expert or outside help — is always identifiable because it has a person or group as a direct object.
Is 'can I say "they are calling in a specialist" in this sense?
It's grammatically possible but sounds a little unnatural in most contexts. This phrasal verb is more commonly used in the simple past, perfect tenses, or with modals like 'had to' or 'need to'. If you want to describe something happening right now, it's more natural to say 'they've called in a specialist' or 'they're bringing in a specialist'.
Is 'call in sick' American English? What do British speakers say?
'Call in sick' is indeed more typical of American English. In the UK and Australia, people more often say 'phone in sick' or 'ring in sick'. That said, 'call in sick' is widely understood in British English too, so you won't confuse anyone by using it.
Can 'call in' mean something other than reporting an absence?
Yes — 'call in' has other meanings. It can mean to visit somewhere briefly (mainly British English: 'I'll call in on my way home') or to summon someone for a task ('they called in an expert'). On this page, we're only looking at the workplace-absence sense, but it's worth knowing the other meanings exist so you can tell them apart in context.
Can I use 'call in' in the present continuous, like 'I am calling in sick tomorrow'?
It's more natural to use 'going to' for a planned future absence: 'I'm going to call in sick tomorrow'. The present continuous with this phrasal verb is possible if someone is literally in the middle of making the call ('She's calling in right now'), but it's rarely used to talk about future plans in this sense.
Do I always need to say 'sick' after 'call in', or can I just say 'call in'?
You can absolutely say just 'call in' if the context already makes the meaning clear. For example, if a colleague hasn't arrived, someone might ask 'Did she call in?' and the answer 'Yes, she called in this morning' is perfectly natural without any adjective.
What adjectives can I use after 'call in' apart from 'sick'?
The most common by far is 'sick', but you can also say 'call in tired', 'call in exhausted', or 'call in late'. The adjective describes the reason or condition you're telling your workplace about. In practice, though, 'call in sick' covers the vast majority of real-world usage.
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