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

Haaland’s goal in the ninth minute against Arsenal was cancelled out in the 90th minute by Gabriel Martinelli after a backs-to-the-wall approach for 80-plus minutes. —Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025

Flight 622, operated by KLM Airlines was then canceled out of safety concerns, FOX 5 Atlanta reported. —Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 27 Nov. 2025

When two counterwound coils are wired in series, such external noise tends to cancel out. —David Schneider, IEEE Spectrum, 25 Nov. 2025

California's retaliatory map from Democrats — a similarly blunt partisan redraw explicitly aimed at canceling out Texas' GOP gains — has similar potential to upend the Republican caucus there. —Christian Orozco, NBC news, 21 Nov. 2025

Rhymes for cancel out

• roundabout
• runabout
• sauerkraut
• thereabout
• turnabout
• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout