If someone is at another person's beck and call, they are always ready to do what that person wants them to do, even when it is not reasonable. Your child has to understand that you can't always be at his beck and call for every little thing. He had a host of servants at his beck and call. Note: `Beck' is an old word meaning a gesture, for example a nod or a movement of the hand or forefinger, which represents a command such as `Come here.'