Phrasal verbs that mean stop, cancel or postpone

Quick answer

• Postponeput off“We had to put off the meeting.” It still happens, later.
• Cancelcall off“They called off the wedding.” It does not happen.
• Stop suddenlybreak off“She broke off in the middle of a sentence.”
• Stop slowlywear off“The pain medicine wore off before lunch.”
• Stop work for the dayknock off“Let's knock off at five.” British, informal.
• Stop a habitgive up“I gave up smoking last year.” With up, not off.

Put off or call off? Ask: will it still happen, at a new time? Yes: put off. No: call off.

Put off or call off?

Learners often confuse these two. Both stop a plan. The difference is what happens next.

When both look possible

Both can be correct English: The match was put off. The match was called off. So the rest of the text decides.

• The text gives a new time, such as until Friday or to next month: use put off.
• The event will not happen as planned, and there is no new time: use call off.

In sports and weather news, called off is the usual word: The match was called off because of the storm. The game may be played on another day, but at that moment there is no new date. In British English, a game that is stopped or cancelled because of rain is rained off. Americans say rained out.

Ask one question: will it still happen, at a new time? If yes, use put off. If no, use call off.

Why off can mean stop

The first meaning of off is simple: two things are not touching any more. Take your shoes off at the door, please. The shoes leave your feet.

With these verbs, off does the same to an action. The action is taken away from now, so it stops. In Sink In, this group is called Stopping, and its definition has four parts: Something is delayed, interrupted, reduced, or brought to an end.

Each part is a different way to stop:

The action is	What happens, with examples
Delayed	It stops now and happens later. put off, hold off
Interrupted	It stops suddenly, in the middle. break off, cut off
Reduced	It becomes weaker until it stops. wear off, ease off, level off
Brought to an end	It stops for good. call off, lay off, swear off

This is why off helps with verbs you have never seen. The rain eased off around lunchtime. If you know that off can mean stop, you can guess that the rain is ending, even before you know the verb. The word ease tells you how: gently. The rain became lighter, little by little.

All 49 meanings, in 9 groups

Here is every meaning in the Stopping group of Sink In. We split them into nine small sets, so they are easier to learn. Each one has a CEFR level, a meaning, an example and the same sentence in other words.

• Later, not now 2
• It will not happen 4
• Stopped in the middle 4
• A break from work 5
• Weaker and weaker 13
• No more of it 6
• Gone after you do something 3
• Done and marked 6
• The end of a job, a product or a life 6

Levels are CEFR levels. A level without * comes from the Cambridge or Oxford learner dictionary. A level with * is our own estimate (32 of the 49 meanings).

Later, not now 2

The action stops now, but it will still happen. You move it to a later time.

• put offB1

  Delay or postpone

  “We had to put off the meeting.”

  In other words: We had to postpone the meeting until a later time.

• hold offC2

  Wait before doing something

  “Let's hold off on the decision until we know the cost.”

  In other words: Let's wait before deciding until we know the cost.

It will not happen 4

The plan stops before it starts. Nobody does it at all.

• call offB2

  Cancel a planned event

  “They called off the wedding.”

  In other words: They cancelled the planned wedding.

• blow offB2* · Mainly American · Informal

  Cancel plans or fail to meet someone deliberately

  “He blew off the meeting.”

  In other words: He deliberately skipped the meeting.

• cry offC2* · British · Informal

  Say you will not come or take part after all

  “Our neighbour was coming to the quiz, but he cried off at the last minute.”

  In other words: Our neighbour was coming to the quiz, but he cancelled at the last minute.

• be off the tableC1* · Idiom

  No longer offered or possible to discuss

  “After the vote, a merger is off the table.”

  In other words: After the vote, nobody is considering a merger any more.

Stopped in the middle 4

Something stops suddenly while it is still happening: a talk, a phone call, or the water in your home.

• break offB2

  Suddenly end a relationship, discussion, activity, or official contact

  “They broke off the engagement.”

  In other words: They ended the engagement suddenly.

• cut offB2*

  Interrupt someone while they are speaking

  “Don't cut me off. Let me finish.”

  In other words: Don't interrupt me. Let me finish.

• cut offB2*

  End a phone call suddenly, often because the connection is lost

  “We were cut off mid-call.”

  In other words: Our phone call was suddenly disconnected.

• cut offB2

  Stop the supply of something like power, water or money

  “They cut off our electricity.”

  In other words: They stopped the supply of our electricity.

A break from work 5

You stop working for a short time, or for the rest of the day.

• get offB1*

  Finish work for the day

  “I get off work at five.”

  In other words: My working day finishes at five.

• knock offB1* · British · Informal

  Stop work for the day

  “Let's knock off at five.”

  In other words: Let's stop working and go home at five o'clock.

• break offB2*

  Take a short pause from an activity

  “Let's break off for lunch.”

  In other words: Let's take a pause for lunch.

• leave offB2*

  Stop doing something for a short time

  “Where did we leave off yesterday?”

  In other words: Where did we stop in our work yesterday?

• take time offB2

  Spend some days or hours away from work or study

  “I take time off when I need proper rest.”

  In other words: I don't go to work for a while when I need proper rest.

Weaker and weaker 13

It does not stop at once. It becomes weaker, quieter or smaller, and then it stops or stays at one level.

• wear offB2

  Slowly get weaker and stop, of a feeling or the effect of a medicine

  “The novelty soon wore off.”

  In other words: The newness and excitement gradually disappeared.

• ease offB2*

  Become less strong, or start doing something less hard

  “The rain eased off around lunchtime.”

  In other words: The rain became lighter around lunchtime.

• cool offB2

  Become calmer after being angry or excited

  “He's angry about the result. Give him time to cool off.”

  In other words: He is angry about the result. Give him time to become calmer.

• cool offB2

  Become less hot

  “The engine needs to cool off.”

  In other words: The engine needs to become less hot.

• cool offB2*

  Become less enthusiastic, interested or active

  “The housing market has cooled off.”

  In other words: Fewer people want to buy houses now.

• drop offB2*

  Decrease in number, level or amount

  “Sales dropped off in winter.”

  In other words: Sales declined in winter.

• level offB2*

  Stop rising or falling and stay at the same level

  “House prices rose fast and then levelled off.”

  In other words: House prices rose fast and then stopped changing much.

• die offB2*

  Gradually all die one after another

  “The plants died off in the frost.”

  In other words: The plants gradually all died one after another in the frost.

• taper offB2*

  Gradually decrease and stop

  “The applause tapered off after a minute.”

  In other words: The applause gradually decreased and stopped after a minute.

• tail offC1*

  Slowly become smaller, weaker or quieter and then stop

  “Sales tail off every year after January.”

  In other words: Sales slowly get smaller every year after January.

• trail offC1*

  Get quieter and quieter until you stop speaking

  “His voice trailed off when he saw her face.”

  In other words: His voice got quieter and stopped when he saw her face.

• slack offC1* · Informal

  Start working with less effort than before

  “He slacked off in his final year at school.”

  In other words: He started working with much less effort in his final year at school.

• fall offC2

  Decrease in number, level or quality

  “Sales have fallen off.”

  In other words: Sales are lower than before.

No more of it 6

A person stops doing, using or liking something, or stops pushing for it.

• go offB2 · Mainly British

  Stop liking or being interested in someone or something

  “I used to love that show, but I've gone off it.”

  In other words: I used to love that show, but I no longer enjoy it.

• back offB2*

  Stop pressuring or interfering with someone

  “Back off and let her decide.”

  In other words: Stop pressuring her and let her decide.

• back offB2*

  Stop supporting or insisting on an idea, demand or plan

  “The union backed off from its demand for a pay rise.”

  In other words: The union stopped insisting on a pay rise.

• lay offC1* · Informal

  Stop doing or using something that is causing a problem

  “The doctor told him to lay off salt.”

  In other words: The doctor told him to stop using salt.

• swear offC1*

  Promise yourself you will stop doing or using something

  “He's sworn off sugar.”

  In other words: He has promised himself he will stop eating sugar.

• come offC2

  Stop taking a medicine or substance

  “He came off the painkillers slowly.”

  In other words: He gradually stopped taking the painkillers.

Gone after you do something 3

You sleep, walk or exercise until a bad feeling has gone.

• sleep offB2*

  Recover from something by sleeping

  “He's sleeping off a hangover.”

  In other words: He's recovering from a hangover by sleeping.

• walk offB2*

  Try to recover from a feeling or pain by walking

  “He walked off the cramp.”

  In other words: He tried to recover from the cramp by walking.

• work offC2

  Use energy or lose weight through physical activity

  “She worked off the extra cake with a run.”

  In other words: She went for a run to burn the energy from the extra cake.

Done and marked 6

A list, a debt or a plan reaches its end. You mark it as done, pay the last money, or give the final yes.

• check offA2*

  Mark items on a list as done or counted

  “Check off each item as you pack it.”

  In other words: Mark each item on the list as done when you pack it.

• mark offA2*

  Indicate that something is done by marking it

  “The guard checked my ID and marked off my name on the list.”

  In other words: The guard checked my ID and put a mark next to my name on the list.

• tick offB1 · British

  Mark items on a list as done

  “She ticked off each task.”

  In other words: She marked each task on the list as done.

• pay offB2

  Finish paying all the money you owe

  “We finally paid off our car loan.”

  In other words: We finally repaid our car loan completely.

• clear offB2*

  Pay a debt completely

  “She cleared off her loan in two years.”

  In other words: She repaid her loan completely in two years.

• sign offB2*

  Give official approval, often by signing

  “The director signed off the new budget.”

  In other words: The director gave official approval to the new budget.

The end of a job, a product or a life 6

Something is ended for good: a worker's job, a dish or a product that is no longer sold, or even a life.

• lay offB2

  Dismiss employees from a job

  “The factory laid off thirty workers.”

  In other words: The factory ended the jobs of thirty workers.

• come offB2*

  Be withdrawn from sale or service

  “The chicken pie has come off the menu.”

  In other words: The restaurant has stopped serving the chicken pie.

• write offC2*

  Accept something as a loss because it cannot be recovered or is not worth repairing

  “The car was written off.”

  In other words: The car was judged too damaged or too expensive to repair.

• write offC2

  Decide that a person or plan is not worth any more attention

  “Do not write him off after one bad game.”

  In other words: Do not decide he is no good after one bad game.

• kill offB2*

  Cause many to die, or remove a character from a story

  “The frost killed off the plants.”

  In other words: The frost caused the plants to die.

• bump offC2* · Informal

  Kill someone, especially in a planned way

  “In the novel, the witness is bumped off in chapter two.”

  In other words: In the novel, the witness is killed in chapter two.

Not with off: push back, back out, give up

Some common verbs for postpone, cancel and stop use another particle. They are not in the off group, but you will often meet them in the same situations.

Later

These also move an event to a later time.

• push backB2*

  Make a planned event or date happen later

  “Can we push the meeting back to three o'clock?”

  In other words: Can we move the meeting to a later time, three o'clock?

• put backB2*

  Make a planned event happen later

  “The meeting was put back an hour.”

  In other words: The meeting was rescheduled to start an hour later.

• hold overC1*

  Postpone something to a later time

  “They held over the decision.”

  In other words: They postponed the decision to a later time.

Earlier: the opposite

This one moves an event to an earlier time.

• bring forwardB2*

  Move an event to an earlier time or date

  “They brought the meeting forward to Monday.”

  In other words: They moved the meeting to an earlier date, Monday.

No longer taking part

A person or a company leaves a plan, a deal or a course before the end.

• pull outB2*

  Withdraw from a commitment

  “They pulled out of the deal at the last minute.”

  In other words: They stopped taking part in the deal at the last minute.

• back outB2

  Withdraw from a commitment or agreement

  “He backed out at the last minute.”

  In other words: He decided not to do what he had agreed at the last minute.

• drop out ofB1*

  Stop attending a school or course before finishing

  “He dropped out of university.”

  In other words: He stopped attending university before finishing.

Stop doing something

The most common stopping verb without off.

• give upB1

  Stop doing or using something

  “I gave up smoking last year.”

  In other words: I stopped smoking last year.

• give upB2

  Stop trying, or accept that you cannot win

  “Don't give up on your dream so easily.”

  In other words: Don't stop trying to reach your dream so easily.

Word order: put it off, not put off it

22 of the 31 meanings that take an object are separable. The object can go after off or between the verb and off. With it, them, him or her, the short word must go in the middle.

Object after off	Object in the middle	With a pronoun
put off the meeting	put the meeting off	put it off
call off the wedding	call the wedding off	call it off
cut off the power	cut the power off	cut it off
break off the engagement	break the engagement off	break it off
lay off the workers	lay the workers off	lay them off
pay off the loan	pay the loan off	pay it off
check off the items	check the items off	check them off
sleep off the headache	sleep the headache off	sleep it off
write off the car	write the car off	write it off

Say put it off, never put off it. Learners often make this mistake, and exams check it.

The object always comes after off

With these, the object never goes in the middle, not even a pronoun:

• come off the painkillers → come off them
• swear off sugar → swear off it
• lay off the coffee → lay off it
• go off coffee → go off it

These need one more small word before the object:

• back off from something
• hold off on something

Put off and hold off + -ing

When another verb comes after put off or hold off, it takes the -ing form, never to: I keep putting off calling the bank. We held off buying a car until prices fell. Do not say putting off to call. Exams often check this.

No object at all

These have no object. The thing that stops is the subject of the sentence: The pain wore off. The rain eased off. Prices levelled off.

back off (stop pressuring or interfering with someone), break off (take a short pause from an activity), cool off, cry off, die off, drop off, ease off, fall off, leave off, level off, slack off, tail off, taper off, trail off, wear off

Look-alikes

The same verb with another meaning

Some verbs with off have one meaning in this group and a different meaning outside it. The rest of the sentence tells you which.

• put off

  • This page “We had to put off the meeting.” delay or postpone
  • Another meaning “The smell put me off my food.” make you stop wanting something

• go off

  • This page “I used to love that show, but I've gone off it.” stop liking or being interested in someone or something
  • Another meaning “The milk has gone off, so do not drink it.” become unsafe or unpleasant to eat or drink
  • Another meaning “My alarm went off and I couldn't find my phone.” start making a loud warning sound
  • Another meaning “The lights went off in the storm.” stop working or be cut

• take off

  • This page “I take time off when I need proper rest.” spend some days or hours away from work or study
  • Another meaning “Take your shoes off at the door, please.” remove clothing or accessories
  • Another meaning “Our flight takes off at half past three.” leave the ground and begin to fly
  • Another meaning “Her career really took off after that role.” become suddenly successful

• pay off

  • This page “We finally paid off our car loan.” finish paying all the money you owe
  • Another meaning “Her hard work paid off when she got the job.” be successful or worthwhile in the end

• clear off

  • This page “She cleared off her loan in two years.” pay a debt completely
  • Another meaning “Clear off. We're closing!” leave a place quickly (British and informal, and it can sound rude)

What about turn off and switch off? They stop a machine or a light, not a plan, so they belong to another meaning of off: not working. Compare: They cut off our electricity (the supply stops) and I switch off every light before I leave the house (the device stops).

Off or another particle?

Change the particle, and the meaning changes too. These pairs are easy to confuse.

• put off vs put on

  Put off means delay or postpone. Put on means dress yourself in clothes.

• call off vs call on

  Call off means cancel a planned event. Call on means ask someone to do something formally.

• break off vs break up

  You break off talks, contact or an engagement when you end it suddenly. A couple breaks up when their relationship ends.

• back off vs back out

  Back off means stop pressuring or interfering with someone. Back out means withdraw from a commitment or agreement.

• hold off vs hold out

  Hold off means wait before an action. Hold out means continue resisting for some time.

• cut off vs cut in

  You cut someone off when you stop them while they are speaking. You cut in when you start speaking while others are talking.

Stopping verbs in exams

IELTS Writing Task 1: the end of a line

These verbs describe what a line on a graph does: it falls, it falls slowly at the end, or it stops changing. They are common in reports and fit the formal style of Task 1.

The line	Verbs and an example
It stops rising or falling and stays flat.	level off “House prices rose fast and then levelled off.”
It falls.	drop off, fall off “Sales dropped off in winter.”
It falls slowly at the end.	tail off, taper off “Sales tail off every year after January.”

For example: Sales rose sharply until 2020 and then levelled off.

Cambridge: key word transformations

Our own examples in the Cambridge style, not official questions. Use the word in capitals and do not change it.

Show the answer

put the trip off or put off the trip. Both word orders are correct, because the object is a noun.

Show the answer

was called off. The race is now the subject, so you need the passive.

Show the answer

putting off phoning or putting off calling. After put off, the next verb takes -ing.

Show the answer

hold off on booking or hold off booking.

Show the answer

were laid off. Lay off means dismiss employees from a job. The workers are now the subject, so you need the passive: were laid off.

More sample tasks are in our Cambridge phrasal verbs guide.

Business English

Three formal verbs from this group are common in work emails and news: lay off (end workers' jobs), sign off (give official approval) and write off (accept a loss).

Practice: choose the verb

Every sentence uses off, and every option is a verb from this group. Read the whole sentence: the context tells you which one is right.

1. The concert has been ___ off until next month. (called / put / broken)

2. The match was ___ off because of the storm, and it will not be played this season. (put / held / called)

3. Let's ___ off on painting the kitchen until the weather is better. (put / hold / cut)

4. He ___ off in the middle of his story and looked at the door. (cut / called / broke)

5. Every time I try to explain, my brother ___ me off. (cuts / breaks / calls)

6. The painkillers are starting to ___ off, so my back hurts again. (level / wear / put)

7. After rising for ten years, house prices ___ off and stayed the same. (dropped / laid / levelled)

8. When orders fell, the factory ___ off 30 workers. (laid / cut / wrote)

Show the answers

1. put (put off). Until next month: it still happens, later.
2. called (call off). It will not be played, so it does not happen.
3. hold (hold off). Hold off on means wait before you do something. You cannot say put off on.
4. broke (break off). He stopped speaking suddenly.
5. cuts (cut off). He stops me while I am speaking.
6. wear (wear off). The effect of the painkillers slowly disappears.
7. levelled (level off). Stayed the same: the prices stopped rising and stayed flat.
8. laid (lay off). The factory ended their jobs.

Frequently asked