summon

7 definitions • 10 examples

to order someone to come to or be present at a particular place, or to officially arrange a meeting of people:

General Rattigan summoned reinforcements to help resist the attack.

On 20 July, the town council was summoned to hear an emergency report on its finances.

We were summoned to the headmaster's office.

to increase your courage or strength, especially with an effort:

It took me six months to summon (up) the courage to ask him out for a drink.

to order someone come to a particular place, or to officially tell someone to be present:

The president summoned an emergency meeting of his advisers.

I have been summoned to appear in court.

To summon is also to find, call, or gather together something for use:

I couldn't summon any strength.

He summoned up enough energy to prepare a revision of his novel.

To summon is also to remember or imagine something:

He recollects the streets of Paris when he was a student and summons up the faces of fellow students.

to officially tell someone to be in a particular place, or be present for a particular purpose:

be summoned to sth Intelligence officials were summoned to Capitol Hill today to talk about global security threats.

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