From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcancelcan‧cel /ˈkænsəl/ ●●● S2 verb (cancelled, cancelling British English, canceled, canceling American English) 1 [intransitive, transitive] to decide that something that was officially planned will not happen Our flight was cancelled. I’m afraid I’ll have to cancel our meeting tomorrow. You’ll just have to ring John and cancel.RegisterIn everyday English, people often say call something off rather than cancel something: We’ll just have to cancel. → We’ll just have to call it off.2 CANCEL[intransitive, transitive] to end an agreement or arrangement that you have with someone I phoned the hotel to cancel my reservation. The bank agreed to cancel all the company’s debts.3 [transitive] to say officially that a document can no longer be used or no longer has any legal effect I phoned the bank to cancel the cheque.THESAURUScancel to decide that something that was officially planned will not happenThe teacher was ill so classes were cancelled for the day.I was feeling better so I cancelled my doctor’s appointment.They were forced to cancel the concert when the conductor became ill.call off to cancel a meeting, game, or event that you have organized. Call off is less formal than cancel and is very commonly used in everyday EnglishLinda decided to call the wedding off.The game was called off due to heavy rain.be off if an event or activity is off, it has been cancelled because of a sudden problem or change in someone’s plansI’m afraid the party’s off. Nick won’t let us use his apartment.Myers called me yesterday to tell me that the deal was off.postpone to decide to do something at a later time, instead of the time that was officially plannedThe show has been postponed until next Saturday.shelve (also put something on ice) to decide not to continue with a plan, project etc although it may be considered again at some time in the futurePlans for a new stadium have been shelved for now.The project had to be put on ice due to lack of funding.Blears called for the discussions to be put on ice until after the elections.annul formal to officially decide that a marriage, result, or agreement has no legal authority and is therefore cancelled The election results were annulled by the courts.A marriage can be annulled if there has been lack of consent. → cancel something ↔ out→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
cancel• Waiting lists started to lengthen as operations were cancelled.• We spent hours on the phone Thursday evening working through the guest-list to tell people the party was cancelled.• The comedy was canceled after just four episodes.• But the changes eventually could cancel almost a dozen station construction flights aboard the shuttle and several additional components.• The project had been cancelled by Labour for lack of public funds.• a canceled check• Hamilton said that, depending on how the students fared emotionally Tuesday morning, he might cancel classes in the afternoon.• Classes were canceled for the day.• I forgot to cancel my doctor's appointment.• And she had been pretty on that slab, all the influences of birth and upbringing cancelled out.• They were forced to cancel the concert when the conductor became ill.• I called and canceled the order.From Longman Business Dictionarycancelcan‧cel /ˈkænsəl/ verb (cancelled, cancelling British English, canceled, canceling American English) [transitive]1to arrange that a planned activity or event will not now happenAirport security has been increased but there is no intention of cancelling flights.Because of the takeover moves the meeting was cancelled.Some airlines have been forced to cancel orders.2LAWto end an agreement or arrangement that exists in lawYou can suspend or even cancel your contract for the period you are away.3LAW to draw lines across a document so that it no longer has any legal effect → cancel something → out→ See Verb tableOrigin cancel (1300-1400) French canceller “to cross out”, from Latin cancellare “to make like a frame of crossed bars”, from cancer “frame of crossed bars”, from carcer “prison” 