cancel

American  

[kan-suhl] / ˈkæn səl /

verb (used with object)

canceled, canceling, cancelled, cancelling

1. 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

2. to decide or announce that a planned event will not take place; call off.

   to cancel a meeting.

3. to mark or perforate (a postage stamp, admission ticket, etc.) so as to render invalid for reuse.

4. to neutralize; compensate for; counterbalance.

   His sincere apology canceled his sarcastic remark.

5. 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.

6. Accounting.

   1. to close (an account) by crediting or paying all outstanding charges.

      He plans to cancel his account at the department store.

   2. 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.

7. 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.

8. to cross out (words, letters, etc.) by drawing a line over the item.

9. Printing. to omit.

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verb (used without object)

canceled, canceling, cancelled, cancelling

1. to counterbalance or compensate for one another; become neutralized (often followed byout ).

   The pros and cons cancel out.

2. 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

• cancels
  plural

1. an act of canceling.

2. Printing, Bookbinding.

   1. an omitted passage, page, etc.

   2. a replacement for an omitted part.

cancel British  

/ ˈkænsəl /

verb

1. to order (something already arranged, such as a meeting or event) to be postponed indefinitely; call off

2. to revoke or annul

   the order for the new television set was cancelled

3. to delete (writing, numbers, etc); cross out

   he cancelled his name and substituted hers

4. to mark (a cheque, postage stamp, ticket, etc) with an official stamp or by a perforation to prevent further use

5. to counterbalance; make up for (a deficiency, etc)

   his generosity cancelled out his past unkindness

6. 1. to close (an account) by discharging any outstanding debts

   2. (sometimes foll by out) accounting to eliminate (a debit or credit) by making an offsetting entry on the opposite side of the account

7. maths

   1. 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

   2. (intr) to be able to be eliminated in this way

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noun

1. a new leaf or section of a book replacing a defective one, one containing errors, or one that has been omitted

2. a less common word for cancellation

3. 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

• canceler
  noun
• canceller
  noun
• recancel
  verb (used with object)
• cancelable
  adjective
• self-canceled
  adjective
• self-cancelled
  adjective
• uncancelable
  adjective
• uncanceled
  adjective
• uncancellable
  adjective
• uncancelled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cancels
  plural

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cancel cancels canceled canceling cancelled cancelling

On that score, Netflix has been the envy of streaming: Its customers rarely cancel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

"It was really unbelievable. Had I had another booking the same day, I would have had to cancel or delay check-in," says Clewes.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

“That usually means you can’t cancel so you either have to be 100% you’re going or get trip insurance.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

Perhaps if he takes his own unorthodox approach, the two will cancel each other out, leaving something substantial behind.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

When a crest from one piston runs into a trough from the other, the two cancel out; if you look carefully at the pattern of ripples, you can see lines of still, wave-free water.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

In effect, the surrounding electrons form a cloud that "screens," or cancels out, the magnetism of the atom.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026

Inspectors also found the service frequently uses overtime and cancels officers rest days in order to meet operational demand.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

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

“That cancels an android into catalepsy,” Rachael said, her eyes shut.

From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick

It worked, and the city canceled the Eid celebration.

From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026

Previously, any months spent in forbearance didn’t count toward the 120 needed for a borrower to have their debt canceled under the program.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026

The White House confirmed Thursday that two campaign stops planned for Kansas and Iowa this weekend have been canceled.

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026

Kalshi said its markets offer unique data distinct from polling, that probabilities do not guarantee outcomes and that efforts to manipulate odds are canceled out by other buyers.

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026

“They probably canceled their landline and went down to just cell phones during the move. That’s what we did—oh, why didn’t I call her back last week?”

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Initially refusing Medicare and applying later, or canceling and reapplying, triggers a late-enrollment penalty.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

Automakers have backed away from their most ambitious pro-EV goals, canceling models and axing planned ones, while listing multibillion-dollar write-downs as they retool their investments and pivot back to gas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

Popular use cases of Meta’s viral AI agent include processing refunds, canceling subscriptions and negotiating lower home- and car-insurance rates.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

In addition, the White House was warned that canceling TPS for Salvadorans would disrupt construction projects in Washington, D.C., the New Yorker reported and a source with knowledge of the warnings confirmed they had occurred.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

In some cases, we will find that Eratosthenes was prescient in his thinking; in others, that he was sloppy or mistaken, but that his errors had the fortuitous effect of canceling each other out.

From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro

A number of events in Saudi Arabia have been cancelled recently, including the Six Kings Slam tennis exhibition event, which was scheduled to be in Riyadh.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

Major Chinese brands cancelled sponsorship deals with Mbappe after his comments.

From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2026

When he failed to surrender his passports in time to meet a 24-hour deadline, Brazilian authorities cancelled the documents and ordered police to make checks at border posts.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

He enters the United States with his cancelled diplomatic passport, according to the Department of Homeland Security website that tracks border controls.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

The same newspaper cancelled a prewritten story labeling the rappings an obvious hoax.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

The ministry also said it would bring changes to the school calendar, including cancelling holidays, to make up for classes missed because of the strike.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

Muse, Instinct and agents like them promise to make your life easier by planning vacations, sorting calendars and cancelling subscription plans.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

Saudi Arabia issued attack alerts Tuesday for Mecca -- the holy city's first of the Middle East war -- and Jeddah and Taif governorates, before quickly cancelling them.

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

It is understood the PCB raised the prospect of cancelling the Test at Lord's and the remainder of the three-match tour if the interview aired.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 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

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Related Words

• abolish
• abort
• annul
• break off
• cut
• destroy
• eliminate
• kill
• remove
• repeal
• rescind
• revoke
• wipe out

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