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 In Seattle, locking the clock on daylight saving time would push sunrise to after 8:30 a.m. for more than two months of the year—cancelling out the recent bell changes made by Seattle public schools. TIME, 9 Mar. 2024 City teammate Rodri was able to somewhat spare Haaland’s blushes by rescuing a point for the league champion, his late effort canceling out Raheem Sterling’s opener for Chelsea. Ben Church, CNN, 18 Feb. 2024 On the field on Sunday, Paulo Dybala converted a penalty for Roma to cancel out Teun Koopmeiners' early opener. Daniella Matar, USA TODAY, 7 Jan. 2024 The idea was that companies could cancel out some of their pollution by paying to protect forests that naturally absorb CO2. Justine Calma, The Verge, 20 Feb. 2024 With heated rollers and three different strengths, this massager will pummel out knots and cancel out any need for a trip to the spa. Melissa Epifano, Peoplemag, 1 Feb. 2024 But the basic gist is that there are five points in the Earth-Sun system where the gravitational pull of the two bodies is effectively canceled out. Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 19 Dec. 2023 Formulated for all hair types, the purple shampoo uses quality violet pigments to cancel out dull, brassy hues. Jessie Quinn, Peoplemag, 18 Jan. 2024 Rotating 18 drivers through the 18 vehicles (each driver drove 10 cars) cancels out most of the influence of one driver who doesn't care about winning. Evan Williams, Ars Technica, 15 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cancel out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near cancel out

Cite this Entry

“Cancel out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cancel%20out. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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