cancellation

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

variants: or less commonly cancelation

|Updated on: 12 Aug 2018

Examples: cancellation in a Sentence

Definition of cancellation

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

The typhoon also caused the cancellation of 138 international flights and 170 domestic flights.

— Washington Post, "Typhoon Maria barrels into China after pounding Taiwan," 12 July 2018
If such cancellation, termination, modification, or suspension occurs, notification will be posted at the Sweepstakes website.

— denisa protani, baltimoresun.com, "Win two tickets to UNCLE DREW," 10 July 2018
Due to the prohibitive cost of travel during the Great Depression, just 1,500 athletes from 37 nations showed up, leading to the cancellation of team events like soccer.

— patrick sisson, Curbed, "Will LA’s ‘no-build’ Olympics spur Southern California’s next building boom?," 10 July 2018
Emergency officials and police had to evacuate two different locations, and the city used everything from social media to the good, old-fashioned intercom to announce the cancellation.

— steve lord, Aurora Beacon-News, "Aurora reschedules fireworks to coincide with Downtown Alive event," 5 July 2018
Schertz and New Braunfels were among those announcing cancellations of evening activities, including fireworks.

— brian contreras, San Antonio Express-News, "Communities come together across San Antonio to celebrate the Fourth," 4 July 2018
And disagreement about the wall led to the cancellation of a trip the Mexican president planned to take to Washington earlier this year.

— washington post, BostonGlobe.com, "Mexico’s next president thinks Donald Trump is ‘erratic and arrogant’," 2 July 2018
As retribution for being abandoned, Grant pushes GLOW to a terrible time slot, sentencing the show to a fate akin to cancellation.

— refinery29.com, "GLOW's Creators On Writing Season 2's Explosive Sexual Harassment Storyline," 2 July 2018
Earlier in the week, protesters blocked the entrance to the ICE office, forcing the cancellation of check-in appointments, which the protesters hope will result in fewer deportations.

— john bellamy and payton wells, Detroit Free Press, "Homeland Security removes tents from in front of Detroit ICE office," 27 June 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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

Definition of cancellation for English Language Learners

: 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