to revoke or withdraw formally or officially.
to repeal a grant.
to revoke or annul (a law, tax, duty, etc.) by express legislative enactment; abrogate.
to annul or rescind officially (something previously ordered); revoke
these laws were repealed
obsolete to call back (a person) from exile
1275–1325; Middle English repelen < Anglo-French repeler, equivalent to re- re- + ( a ) peler to appeal
To repeal something — usually a law, ordinance or public policy — is to take it back. For example, dog lovers might want the town council to repeal the law that says residents can have no more than four dogs. The verb repeal comes from the Anglo-French word repeler, “to call back.” Repeal is almost always used in the context of law: When a government decides to get rid of an ordinance or law, that ordinance or law is repealed. That means it is no longer in effect, like if the weather becomes unseasonably hot, the schools might repeal the part of the dress code to permit students to wear shorts.
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Antipathy toward the earnings test, and a belief that the rule is outdated since so many older Americans need to work, is why legislation is percolating in Congress to repeal it.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 15, 2026
Colombia's foreign ministry criticised "the misleading presentation of the decision to repeal the tariffs as a goodwill measure by the Ecuadorian leader" in a statement on Saturday.
From BBC • May 30, 2026
There are 125 licensed distilleries, according to state data, more than at any point since Prohibition’s repeal in 1933.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 17, 2026
Jones Act waivers trim pennies, though permanent repeal may cause more fundamental changes, such as reduced rail and truck transport of all goods, which could lower costs, emissions and infrastructure damage associated with cargo transportation.
From Salon • May 13, 2026
The protesters had issued an ultimatum, demanding that the government repeal the Black Act.
From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson
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.
