— cancelable; esp. Brit., cancellable , adj. — canceler; esp. Brit., canceller , n.
/kan"seuhl/ , v. , canceled, canceling or ( esp. Brit. ) cancelled, cancelling , n.
v.t.
1. to make void; revoke; annul: to cancel a reservation.
2. to decide or announce that a planned event will not take place; call off: to cancel a meeting.
3. to mark or perforate (a postage stamp, admission ticket, etc.) so as to render invalid for reuse.
4. to neutralize; counterbalance; compensate for: His sincere apology canceled his sarcastic remark.
5. Accounting.
a. to close (an account) by crediting or paying all outstanding charges: He plans to cancel his account at the department store.
b. to eliminate or offset (a debit, credit, etc.) with an entry for an equal amount on the opposite side of a ledger, as when a payment is received on a debt.
6. Math. to eliminate by striking out a factor common to both the denominator and numerator of a fraction, equivalent terms on opposite sides of an equation, etc.
7. to cross out (words, letters, etc.) by drawing a line over the item.
8. Print. to omit.
v.i.
9. to counterbalance or compensate for one another; become neutralized (often fol. by out ): The pros and cons cancel out.
10. Math. (of factors common to both the denominator and numerator of a fraction, certain terms on opposite sides of an equation, etc.) to be equivalent; to allow cancellation.
n.
11. an act of canceling.
12. Print. , Bookbinding.
a. omission.
b. a replacement for an omitted part.
[ 1350-1400; ME cancellen cancellare to cross out, L: to make like a lattice, deriv. of cancelli grating, pl. of cancellus; see CANCELLUS ]
Syn. 1. countermand, rescind. 3, 7 . CANCEL, DELETE, ERASE, OBLITERATE indicate that something is no longer to be considered usable or in force. To CANCEL is to cross something out by stamping a mark over it, drawing lines through it, or the like: to cancel a stamp, a word. To DELETE is to cross something out from written matter or from matter to be printed, often in accordance with a printer's or proofreader's symbol indicating the material is to be omitted: to delete part of a line. To ERASE is to remove by scraping or rubbing: to erase a capital letter. To OBLITERATE is to blot out entirely, so as to remove all sign or trace of: to obliterate a record.