call off

Definition of call offnext
1
as in to distract
to draw the attention or mind to something else she was about to tell me the big news when her attention was called off by the arrival of another guest

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of call off But the Coast Guard also found three bodies, and the search for 10 people who remained missing was eventually called off. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026 As the deadline approached, Claude responded by threatening to blackmail Johnson, revealing the affair to his wife and coworkers unless the replacement was called off. — Kevin Roose, Vanity Fair, 7 Oct. 2026 But Bulgaria failed to find any survivors from the Alfa Watan’s 10-person crew after the vessel sank and eventually called off search operations after only coming across life rafts and parts of the ship, according to AFP and Reuters. — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 6 Oct. 2026 After more than an hour, the governor called off the execution and gave Carruthers a one-year reprieve. — Keri Blakinger, ProPublica, 6 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for call off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for call off
Verb
  • Elsewhere Citroën is banking on retro-chic styling to distract consumers from the vehicle's minimalism.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 12 Oct. 2026
  • For Bajaria, the brief opportunity to own a legacy studio didn’t distract from her core mission.
    — K.J. Yossman, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Classes, activities and athletic events across Bend-La Pine Schools are canceled tomorrow, the district announced.
    — Phil Helsel, NBC news, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Ossoff last year also pressed Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin for canceling public health and environmental grants.
    — Maydeen Merino, The Washington Examiner, 15 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The transfers have allowed the Senate GOP group to support Paxton without diverting resources away from Republicans in other competitive races across the country.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Cargo on ships that have diverted away from the Hormuz is backing up at the region’s alternative gateways.
    — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Executives from ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP and TotalEnergies abandoned the event, the FT reported, due to the potential danger.
    — Jim Edwards, Fortune, 14 Oct. 2026
  • In Peru, the world’s largest catcher of anchovies, the fishing industry collapsed after the tiny baitfish abandoned the country’s waters for cooler northern climes.
    — The Week US, TheWeek, 13 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • So why did Netflix, which is still throwing off a good chunk of change, this week lay off around 1,000 employees — its biggest cutback to date?
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026
  • But the categories that grew most year over year weren’t those that throw off cash.
    — Molly A. Wallace, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • This week, however, international timekeepers voted to scrap them and introduce the leap hour, the first of which might not happen for thousands of years.
    — Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Gartner expects more than 40% of agentic AI projects, which are projects built on AI that acts on its own rather than waiting for instructions, to be scrapped by the end of 2027, citing escalating costs and unclear business value among the reasons.
    — Ciaran Cosgrave, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • According to the producers, Casparina was in Beijing representing Indonesia at an international forum when her citizenship was revoked over her opposition to the new regime.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Proposals that would reform Section 230 range from adding exceptions for extreme cases to revoking immunity for social media companies altogether.
    — Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • As in the West and Kelley cases, agreements may also specify when the surrogate could be asked to abort or, if pregnant with multiple fetuses, selectively terminate.
    — Naomi Cahn, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Dozens of passengers and crew on the flight that aborted after the man jumped the airport’s perimeter fence in May are suing the airport, the city and two related companies for negligence and wrongful death.
    — Katie Langford, Denver Post, 29 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Call off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/call%20off. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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