revoke
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to take back or withdraw; annul, cancel, or reverse; rescind or repeal.
to revoke a decree.
- Synonyms:
- countermand, nullify, recall, retract
-
to bring or summon back.
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
-
(tr) to take back or withdraw; cancel; rescind
to revoke a law
-
(intr) cards to break a rule of play by failing to follow suit when able to do so; renege
noun
Usage
What does revoke mean? Revoke means to take back, withdraw, or cancel.Revoke is typically used in the context of officially taking back or cancelling some kind of right, status, or privilege that has already been given or approved. Passports and laws can be revoked, for example.The process or an instance of revoking is called revocation.A much more specific and less common sense of the word revoke is used in the context of card games, in which it means to break the rules by failing to follow suit when possible or required, such as in the game of bridge.Example: The principal threatened to revoke our senior privileges if there are any pranks.
Other Word Forms
- revoker noun
- revokingly adverb
- unrevoked adjective
Etymology
Origin of revoke
1300–50; Middle English revoken < Latin revocāre to call again, equivalent to re- re- + vocāre to call
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.
Instead, it agreed to take up the government’s case, which argues that it can revoke this status—this is something Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has been fighting for nearly a year now.
From Slate • Mar. 19, 2026
Andrew Jay Schwartzman, a Washington-based public interest communications attorney, believes Carr’s conduct and threats violate the 1st Amendment, adding that any serious attempt to revoke licenses would be tied up in legal challenges.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026
“If somebody is really stuck in this trap, I would recommend that they revoke authorization,” said Lauren Saunders, associate director and director of federal advocacy at the National Consumer Law Center.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 12, 2026
Among questions raised: Would the government revoke grants it had already awarded, as it did last year?
From Salon • Feb. 7, 2026
On June 29, 1954, the Atomic Energy Commission voted 4 to 1 to revoke J. Robert Oppenheimer’s security clearance, one day before it would have expired anyway.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
