cancellation

noun can·cel·la·tion \ ˌkan(t)-sə-ˈlā-shən \

variants: or less commonly cancelation

1 : the act or an instance of canceling

The cancellation of the game was due to bad weather.

2 : something (such as a hotel room or a ticket) made available by the canceling of an arrangement

was lucky to get a cancellation for the trip to Chicago

3 : a mark made to cancel something (such as a postage stamp)

See cancellation defined for English-language learners

See cancellation defined for kids

Examples of cancellation in a Sentence

The storm caused delays and flight cancellations.
Notice of cancellation should be given 30 days in advance.
There is a fee for cancellation.
Cancellations increased when rates doubled.

Recent Examples of cancellation from the Web

Ramos said the cancellation will delay work by 10 to 12 weeks.

— CBS News, "Puerto Rico to scrap $300M Whitefish Energy contract; company "very disappointed"," 29 Oct. 2017
Marriott will waive cancellation fees in the coming days.

— nancy trejos, USA TODAY, "Napa, Sonoma hotels shut down due to fires," 11 Oct. 2017
Grand Cherokees equipped with the optional Alpine audio system will now also feature active noise cancellation.

— michael simari, Car and Driver, "2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee," 2 Oct. 2017
The cancellation left no time for true freshman James Blackman, a former three-star prospect out of Glades Central (Fla.) High, to get his feet wet against a Group of Five defense.

— chris johnson, SI.com, "After Escaping Wake Forest, Florida State Needs to Adjust Its Expectations," 1 Oct. 2017
Hilton has moved to a stricter cancellation policy as well.

— stephanie rosenbloom, New York Times, "Hotels Rake in Record Fees, and Travelers Foot the Bill," 29 Sep. 2017
But the cancellation of this week’s vote has major implications.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "Graham-Cassidy Failed, but Obamacare Is Under Attack for the Foreseeable Future," 26 Sep. 2017
The surgeries also forced cancellation of an Oct. 2-6 pretrial hearing in his case.

— carol rosenberg, miamiherald, "U.S. deliberately withheld medical care at Guantánamo, federal lawsuit claims," 26 Sep. 2017
The cancellation of this game could have an impact on the East Division race.

— mike anthony, courant.com, "UConn Football Game With USF Canceled, Won't Be Made Up," 7 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cancellation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of cancellation

see ¹cancel

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1535

See Words from the same year

cancellation Synonyms

Financial Definition of CANCELLATION

cancellation

noun

What It Is

In the finance world, a cancellation is a notice informing a broker that a trade was made incorrectly. In the insurance world, a cancellation occurs when a policyholder stops paying the premium on an insurance policy and/or the insurance policy is no longer effective.

How It Works

Let's say Jane Smith calls her broker, John Doe, and tells him to buy 1,000 shares of Company XYZ. John puts the trade in, but gets a cancellation telling him that the floor accidentally bought 1,000 shares of Company X instead. John quickly puts in a new trade for Jane and then calls and tells her what happened. Because the price of Company XYZ rose about $0.25 before Jane could actually get her shares, John offers to make her whole on the trade.

In another example, let's say Peter Walker has a term life insurance policy that costs him $100 a month. He loses his job and can't afford to pay the premium anymore. In turn, the insurance company cancels the policy and Peter no longer has life insurance.

Why It Matters

Computerized trading has vastly improved the accuracy of trading in developed markets, but occasionally somebody types the wrong ticker symbol or transposes a number, causing a cancellation. Cancellations can be a sneaky way of covering up wrongdoing in an account, so they involve a considerable amount of paperwork and verification.

In insurance, cancellations may relieve a consumer of monthly premium payments, but they can also expose the consumer to considerable risk. In Peter's case, a lack of life insurance might mean that if he dies now, his children may have to sell his assets just to pay for his funeral and estate taxes if they are no longer the beneficiaries of his life insurance policy.

Source: Investing Answers

CANCELLATION Defined for English Language Learners

cancellation

noun

: a decision to stop doing or planning to do something : the act of canceling something (such as a game, performance, etc.)
: the act of causing something to end or no longer produce a certain effect : a decision to stop something from being effective or valid