call off

verb

called off; calling off; calls off

transitive verb

1

: to draw away : divert

2

: cancel

Synonyms of call off

• 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

There was uncertainty over his future last summer, but Atletico Madrid eventually called off their pursuit. — Cerys Jones, New York Times, 20 July 2026

SpaceX called off a test flight of its powerful Starship rocket and Super Heavy booster as the countdown clock reached zero Thursday at the company’s spaceport in South Texas. — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 17 July 2026

Sporting events like the RowFest National Championships In Michigan were also called off Friday. — Brandon Miller, CNN Money, 17 July 2026

And the Millennium Park Summer Music Series, a free outdoor concert series held on select days throughout the summer, was also called off Thursday night. — Doug George, Chicago Tribune, 17 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for call off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff

Kids Definition

call off

verb

1

: to draw away : divert

call off a dog

2

: cancel sense 2a

call off a meeting