call off

verb

called off; calling off; calls off

transitive verb

1

: to draw away : divert

2

: cancel

Synonyms

• abstract
• detract
• distract
• divert
• throw off

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

Smith, now 74, was scheduled to be executed for the 1989 killings of his estranged wife and her teenage sons before it was called off. —Landon Mion, Fox News, 28 Dec. 2024

The search was called off after search and rescue teams failed to find the man. —David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Dec. 2024

Turner and Mays were engaged in early November, but by mid-November, Shannon called off the relationship. —Yasmeen Saadi, The Indianapolis Star, 27 Dec. 2024

Neil Young and Crazy Horse – May 14 @ Forest Hills Stadium, Queens, N.Y. For reasons that have yet to be fully explained, Neil Young and Crazy Horse called off their summer tour at the midway point, leaving scores of disappointed fans all across the United States. —Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 25 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

call off

verb

1

: to draw away : divert

call off a dog

2

: cancel sense 2a

call off a meeting