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

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cancel cancels canceled canceling cancelled cancelling

In September 2025, Amazon agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle allegations that it used deceptive practices to enroll consumers in Amazon Prime and made it difficult to cancel subscriptions.

From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026

Last year, it settled a case with the FTC that alleged that it enrolled millions of consumers in its Prime subscription offering without their consent, and knowingly made it difficult for consumers to cancel.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

The festival began on Friday and was due to continue until Sunday, but a decision was made by organisers to cancel the remainder of the event after the incident .

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

“Smart Blonde: The Life of Dolly Parton” highlights the two-year, $44 million contract ABC gave her to host a prime-time variety show—only to cancel it after one season.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 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

LIV cancels final event to focus on 'next chapter'

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 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

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

Trust is what Rania has in our mission when she cancels her dinner plans with her family once again to stay late to work.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

In 2023, a woman showed up at the couple’s home, angry that John Overdeck had canceled their dinner plans, according to a New York Post report detailing a police video it said it obtained.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

The California attorney general canceled a meeting with Ellison to discuss a potential settlement this past week after The Wall Street Journal reported plans for the meeting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Shortly after, he announced $1.7 billion in additional funding would go toward roads and bridges, though it is unclear how much of that came from grants he had already canceled for bike infrastructure.

From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026

Days after Barry Manilow canceled two of his Las Vegas residency dates, the acclaimed crooner says he’s taking a much-needed break on the heels of a busy summer tour.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

Ultimately, Anthony was outvoted and the women’s rights convention was canceled.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

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

Hurricane Lala disrupted travel between Los Angeles and Hawaii on Saturday, canceling flights from LAX to destinations across the islands as the Category 1 storm approached the Big Island.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Mr. Carney won early support by canceling his predecessor’s carbon tax, rolling back planning requirements for construction and proving a shrewd political operator.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Two days later, the president said in a post that he was canceling strikes scheduled for that evening because negotiations were proceeding with Iran.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Osbourne ended up canceling because he had the flu.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

She also saw a spike in rumours ahead of last week's anti-graft protest in Jakarta that the event had been cancelled.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

RwandAir said on Monday that it had cancelled two flights due to the ongoing "operational constraints affecting air traffic control services" at the airport.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

Mendel Goldman, who was travelling to a wedding in Florida, told the Reuters news agency that his flight had been cancelled, after several delays.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

West, whose concerts have been cancelled in several European countries, has not yet commented.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

So after browsing, I cancelled my membership, thankfully still on trial, got a refund, and will be walking around blindly in the grocery store instead.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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

That meant cancelling a trip last spring to Texas to watch the SpaceX Starship launch with his brother.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

The German government announced in mid-June that it was cancelling the stalled multi-billion-euro F-126 programme, even though Rheinmetall was widely seen as the frontrunner to take over the project.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 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

Related Words

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