call off

verb

called off; calling off; calls off

transitive verb

1
: to draw away : divert
2
: cancel

Examples of call off in a Sentence

she was about to tell me the big news when her attention was called off by the arrival of another guest called off the party after half of those invited couldn't make it
Recent Examples on the Web Due to poor lighting, the swiftly flowing river and debris, a brief search was called off until the next morning when police, with assistance from a U.S. Border Patrol helicopter, located two dead men, Shebloski said. Lyndsay Winkley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2024 But his family and aides warned that the authorities may try to prevent people from attending or force the service to be called off. Valerie Hopkins, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024 In November, the district was forced to cancel nearly 100 routes after bus drivers organized a sickout and 143 called off work. Rebecca Grapevine, The Courier-Journal, 1 Mar. 2024 The military couldn't find any debris from those objects, and the search was called off due to dangerous weather conditions. Eleanor Watson, CBS News, 23 Feb. 2024 The underwater search was officially called off in January 2017 after the Australian, Malaysia and Chinese governments scoured nearly 50,000 square miles of the Indian Ocean floor, which reportedly cost about $150 million. Chris Eberhart, Fox News, 8 Mar. 2024 An initial search, carried out by Malaysia, China, and Australia and estimated to have cost 200 million Australian dollars ($132 million), was called off in January 2017 after failing to find any trace. Chris Lau, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024 Cabello and Mendes first called off their relationship in November 2021 after two years of dating. Sadie Bell, Peoplemag, 6 Mar. 2024 The 1944 presidential election would be called off because of the war. Greg Daugherty, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'call off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of call off was in 1606

Dictionary Entries Near call off

Cite this Entry

“Call off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/call%20off. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

call off

verb
1
: to draw away : divert
call off a dog
2
: cancel sense 2a
call off a meeting

More from Merriam-Webster on call off

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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