Advertisement
Advertisement
at someone's beck and call
Discover More
Idioms and Phrases
Required to comply with someone's requests or commands, as in The boss expects the entire staff to be at his beck and call . The noun beck , now obsolete except in this idiom, meant “a gesture or signal of command, such as a nod or hand movement,†whereas call signifies “a vocal summons.†Also see dance attendance on .Advertisement
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse