call off
Britishverb
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to cancel or abandon
the game was called off because of rain
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to order (an animal or person) to desist or summon away
the man called off his dog
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to stop (something) or give the order to stop
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Summon away, restrain, as in Please call off your dog . [Early 1600s]
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Cancel some plan or undertaking, as in She decided to call off their engagement , or In case of rain the picnic will be called off . [Late 1800s]
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.
Nationals claimed OF Alex Call off waivers from Cleveland and optioned him to Triple-A Rochester.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 7, 2022
The Guardian is one of the papers that gives the film four stars: "Call off the trolls - Paul Feig's female reboot is a blast," it said.
From BBC • Jul. 11, 2016
Call off the anagramists: JK Rowling has announced that one Emily Strong, tweeting as @emybemy2, has solved her Twitter anagram: “Cry, foe! Run amok! Fa awry! My wand won’t tolerate this nonsense.”
From The Guardian • Oct. 8, 2014
Call off his mass picketing of the Pennsylvania coal mines.
From Time Magazine Archive
Call off yer dogs, ef yer please, an' come an' 'scort us in as yer promised.
From Bricks Without Straw by Tourgée, Albion Winegar
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.
