call off

British  

verb

1. to cancel or abandon

   the game was called off because of rain

2. to order (an animal or person) to desist or summon away

   the man called off his dog

3. to stop (something) or give the order to stop

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call off Idioms  

1. Summon away, restrain, as in Please call off your dog . [Early 1600s]

2. 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]

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Example Sentences

Monday's bin collections have been called off as agency workers joined refuse strikers on picket lines in Birmingham amid a separate dispute.

From BBC

Her performance was part of a three-day music festival in Shanghai, for which subsequent events were also called off after "comprehensively taking into consideration various factors", according to Japan's Kyodo News.

From BBC

Last week, the Labor Department called off releasing its monthly jobs report for October, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics scrapped its own report on inflation.

From Salon

The search was called off around 7 p.m. due to darkness and was scheduled to resume Sunday morning.

From Los Angeles Times

This intensifies the fog surrounding the Federal Reserve ahead of its upcoming interest rate meeting, with a full report on the October jobs market also called off due to the stoppage.

From Barron's