cancel
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make void, as a contract or other obligation; annul: to cancel a magazine subscription.
to cancel a hotel reservation;
to cancel a magazine subscription.
- Synonyms:
- rescind, countermand
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to decide or announce that a planned event will not take place; call off.
to cancel a meeting.
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to mark or perforate (a postage stamp, admission ticket, etc.) so as to render invalid for reuse.
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to neutralize; compensate for; counterbalance.
His sincere apology canceled his sarcastic remark.
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to publicly reject, boycott, or no longer support (a person or group) because of socially or morally unacceptable views or actions.
Fans have been quick to cancel their favorite rapper or other celebrity.
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Accounting.
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to close (an account) by crediting or paying all outstanding charges.
He plans to cancel his account at the department store.
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to eliminate or offset (a debit, credit, etc.) with an entry for an equal amount on the opposite side of a ledger, as when a payment is received on a debt.
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Mathematics. to eliminate by striking out a factor common to both the denominator and numerator of a fraction, equivalent terms on opposite sides of an equation, etc.
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to cross out (words, letters, etc.) by drawing a line over the item.
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Printing. to omit.
verb (used without object)
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to counterbalance or compensate for one another; become neutralized (often followed byout ).
The pros and cons cancel out.
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Mathematics. (of factors common to both the denominator and numerator of a fraction, certain terms on opposite sides of an equation, etc.) to be equivalent; to allow cancellation.
noun
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cancels
plural
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an act of canceling.
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Printing, Bookbinding.
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an omitted passage, page, etc.
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a replacement for an omitted part.
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verb
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to order (something already arranged, such as a meeting or event) to be postponed indefinitely; call off
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to revoke or annul
the order for the new television set was cancelled
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to delete (writing, numbers, etc); cross out
he cancelled his name and substituted hers
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to mark (a cheque, postage stamp, ticket, etc) with an official stamp or by a perforation to prevent further use
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to counterbalance; make up for (a deficiency, etc)
his generosity cancelled out his past unkindness
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to close (an account) by discharging any outstanding debts
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(sometimes foll by out) accounting to eliminate (a debit or credit) by making an offsetting entry on the opposite side of the account
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maths
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to eliminate (numbers, quantities, or terms) as common factors from both the numerator and denominator of a fraction or as equal terms from opposite sides of an equation
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(intr) to be able to be eliminated in this way
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noun
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a new leaf or section of a book replacing a defective one, one containing errors, or one that has been omitted
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a less common word for cancellation
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music a US word for natural
Usage
What's the difference between canceled and cancelled? Canceled and cancelled are alternate forms of the past tense of the verb cancel. Canceled is the primary spelling used in American English, while cancelled is the spelling used in British English and preferred in many locations, including in the U. K., Ireland, Australia, and Canada. Perhaps for this reason, cancelled is also occasionally used in American English. This is part of a general British English spelling pattern in which a single letter L at the end of a verb is doubled when the verb is changed to form a different tense, such as by adding -ed for past tense or -ing for continuous tense. So cancelling is used in British English, while canceling is primarily used in American English. This same pattern applies for many words, such as counsel, but not all. When the stress falls on the final syllable, the L is usually doubled (the past tense of propel is typically spelled propelled, for example). Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between canceled and cancelled.
Synonym Usage
Cancel, delete, erase, obliterate indicate that something is no longer to be considered usable or in force. To cancel is to cross something out by stamping a mark over it, drawing lines through it, or the like: to cancel a stamp, a word. To delete is to cross something out from written matter or from matter to be printed, often in accordance with a printer's or proofreader's symbol indicating the material is to be omitted: to delete part of a line. To erase is to remove by scraping or rubbing: to erase a capital letter. To obliterate is to blot out entirely, so as to remove all sign or trace of: to obliterate a record.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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cancelernoun
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cancellernoun
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recancelverb (used with object)
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cancelableadjective
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self-canceledadjective
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self-cancelledadjective
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uncancelableadjective
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uncanceledadjective
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uncancellableadjective
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uncancelledadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of cancel
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English cancellen, cansellen “to annul, revoke,” from Anglo-French canceler, from Old French chanceler “to cross out with X's or parallel lines,” from Medieval Latin cancellāre “to cross out,” from Latin: “to make like a lattice,” derivative of cancellī “latticed barriers, gratings, grilles,” plural of cancellus; see cancellus
Explanation
To cancel means to call off or postpone indefinitely. Which is probably what you would do if the hotel you were planning to stay in has an infestation of bedbugs. Scrub, scratch, or strike down — those are all other ways of saying cancel. People often cancel plans, deciding not to do something they had already scheduled. In math, if the numerator and a denominator of a fraction have common factors you can cancel the factors out, which means delete them. To cancel a debt means to get rid of it. A cancel on a postage stamp is the mark that shows it has been used.
Vocabulary lists containing cancel
"The Evolution of a Great Idea"
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"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 9–October 15, 2021
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
DHS can extend the program for a six, 12 or 18-month period or decide to cancel the designation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
Arsenal, due to play Napoli in the Champions League Wednesday in the southern Italian city, were forced to cancel a press conference ahead of the match after the team's flight was delayed.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
Tax loss selling of stocks is used by investors to lower their overall tax bill by using investment losses to cancel out capital gains.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026
Under India's food safety laws, businesses are usually given time to fix violations before regulators suspend or cancel their licences.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Perhaps I should speak first and cancel our vows, thereby saving some shreds of honor.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Plus: Know your rights as a passenger — and what you’re entitled to if an airline cancels your flight for any reason.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
After the video’s release, ABC cancels Paul’s season of “The Bachelorette.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026
Company A owns company B, and company B owns company A. What cancels out what?
From Barron's ● Dec. 11, 2025
That is, if an airline cancels a flight or makes a significant change, travelers are entitled to a full refund if they choose not to fly.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2025
After Granddad leaves the next day, Mummy calls Dad and cancels the Australia trip.
From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart
“I told her this was a pattern of squeezing Jewish people out of public spaces,” said Rosenheck, who had hired private security for the canceled event.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Not too shabby for a series that premiered to mixed reviews and was canceled after just three seasons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
"These figures are the cumulative operational impact since 5 September 2026 and cover flights that have been canceled, delayed, or diverted," the ministry said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
A growing number of cities and counties, including Austin, have canceled their Flock contracts in the face of residents’ privacy concerns.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
The buses to Malvern and Upton and Tewkesbury once stopped here, but they've mostly been canceled now 'cause of cuts.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
Then, on Wednesday afternoon, the district notified developers in a letter that it was canceling its “RFQ/P” — shorthand for Request For Qualifications and Proposals — and rejecting all bids.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
Depending on your situation, this could mean canceling high-priced memberships or unnecessary subscriptions — or making bigger moves, like selling a second car or downsizing your home.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
The school ended up canceling its season after too many players were declared ineligible.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Thinking of canceling a travel credit card due to the hefty annual fee?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
And then she started thumb-typing on her BlackBerry, no doubt canceling the appearances she’d set up.
From "Lawn Boy Returns" by Gary Paulsen
It means their holiday to Slovenia has been cancelled and - although their flight was refunded by British Airways - they estimate being left £1,300 out of pocket from unused accommodation and excursions.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Although the Allens could get back home after their flight was cancelled, others ended up sleeping on floors at Heathrow Airport.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
The air traffic chaos follow a technical glitch in July last year that saw scores of flights to and from the UK cancelled, prompting anger from airline chiefs.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
Elsewhere, people spoke of spending the night on the floors of airports and hotels across the globe when flights back into the UK were cancelled.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
One day I saw that it was indented severely, and cancelled a foraging trip.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
Natasha Asghar, Welsh Conservative shadow health minister, had earlier called for a review of the service and said cancelling surgeries during it "is absolutely the right thing to do".
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
Last September, Amazon paid $2.5 billion to settle allegations that it deceptively tricked consumers into Amazon Prime subscriptions and made cancelling them excessively difficult.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
Kristersson was due to hold a speech in Stockholm in the evening but told media he was cancelling it to focus on the incident.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
The agent replied saying it had succeeded by cancelling another gym-goer's booking.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Instead of a roiled mess of waves cancelling each other out, you would have a pond of perfectly ordered waves, with high points and low points appearing regularly at the same spots again and again.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
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.
