What does "call off" mean?
What it means: To cancel something that was planned or in progress."They called off the match because of rain.""The meeting has been called off.""She called the whole thing off at the last minute."Separable or not: Call off is separable - you can put the object between the verb and particle:"They...
What it means
To cancel something that was planned or in progress.
"They called off the match because of rain."
"The meeting has been called off."
"She called the whole thing off at the last minute."
Separable or not
Call off is separable - you can put the object between the verb and particle:
"They called off the event." β
"They called the event off." β
"They called it off." β (pronoun must go in the middle)
Common contexts
Meetings, events, deals, searches, relationships, strikes:
"Management called off the strike negotiations."
"The search was called off after three days."
"She called off the engagement."
A native would say
- "Cancel" - straightforward, more formal
- "Scrap" - British, informal: "They scrapped the whole plan."
- "Axe" - informal, journalistic: "The event was axed."
Register
Neutral. Used in conversation, workplace, and news reporting.
What does "call off" mean?
To cancel something that was planned or in progress.
"They called off the match because of rain."
"The meeting has been called off."
"She called the whole thing off at the last minute."
Is "call off" formal or informal?
Neutral. Used in conversation, workplace, and news reporting.
What's another way to say "call off"?
- "Cancel" - straightforward, more formal
- "Scrap" - British, informal: "They scrapped the whole plan."
- "Axe" - informal, journalistic: "The event was axed."
Phrasal verbs are one of the hardest parts of English to master.
LLH Tutor explains them in plain language, so you know exactly when and how to use each one.
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