cancel out
phrasal verb
canceled out or cancelled out; canceling out or cancelling out; cancels out
: to reduce the effect of (something) : to be equal to (something) in force or importance but have an opposite effect
The costs cancel out the benefits.
Examples of cancel out in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Thus the payments and receipts cancel out in the form of an economic transfer.
—
James Broughel, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
Anger at a broken system should never cancel out compassion for the people caught in its collapse.
—Nick Allardice, Time, 10 July 2025
But at Paramount the profits on the Big Pictures have more than canceled out the occasional losers, in part because pictures are kept to relatively modest budgets.
—Andrew Tobias, Vulture, 7 July 2025
That, of course, doesn't cancel out the possibility of returning players joining them.
—David Wysong, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for cancel out
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James Broughel, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
Anger at a broken system should never cancel out compassion for the people caught in its collapse.
—Nick Allardice, Time, 10 July 2025
But at Paramount the profits on the Big Pictures have more than canceled out the occasional losers, in part because pictures are kept to relatively modest budgets.
—Andrew Tobias, Vulture, 7 July 2025
That, of course, doesn't cancel out the possibility of returning players joining them.
—David Wysong, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for cancel out
Cite this Entry
“Cancel out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cancel%20out. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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