You might have heard the phrase “call off’ when someone was talking about cancellation of a meeting or a plan.

It may be used when talking about stopping a plan in the middle, or canceling it completely.

This lesson will show you some examples of how to use the phrasal verb “call off.”

Improve your fluency by pausing the lesson and repeating the lines.

And here’s a tip to increase your vocabulary:

check out the explanation for some additional words used in the conversations, in the section at the end.

Shall we get started then?

Hey Linda! Do you know the meaning of the phrase “call off’?

Yes, I think so. It means to either cancel something or to stop something that is already happening.

Can you give me an example?

Yeah sure. Like if I say “Let’s call off the meeting”.

It means that I’m canceling a meeting that had been planned already.

Oh okay. I get it.

So, if I say that the concert had to be called off because the singer was sick, it means that the concert has been canceled.

Yes, correct.

We could use it to tell someone to stop something that is already happening.

Yes that’s right. Now let’s watch some conversations with more examples.

Did you hear about Andrea and Peter’s wedding?

No. What happened?

Andrea has called off the wedding.

Whoa! Did something happen so that they had to call off the wedding?

I really don’t know. But I think they had a fight.

They should’ve resolved it instead of calling off the wedding.

I think they’ve made up their minds and their decision is probably final.

Well, it’s their lives. They make their own choices.

Yeah! I just hope they’re the right ones.

Are you going to pay me back, or should I call my lawyer?

No, no. Call off your lawyer. We can work something out.

I’m not going to call off my lawyer just because you said so.

What if I pay you half today and the rest tomorrow. Will you call him off then?

I’ll consider it. First give me the money.

Okay. Here you go. Now please call him off.

Okay. I’ll call off my lawyer and I will come back tomorrow to get the rest of my money.

You will have it for sure.

Excuse me. I need to talk to you about your dog.

What about it?

It has been barking at everyone and since you let it loose, it also attacks people.

What do you want me to do?

Well do something about it! Call off your dog! Chain it, tie it, do anything you want to it, just call it off.

Okay, okay. I’ll do it.

Thanks.

When we join with other people to discuss something or make decisions, it is called a meeting.

You might have a meeting to discuss the sales plans at work,

A music show is called a concert. It may be open to the public or be private.

You might go to a public concert at a theater, or a private concert at your church.

A lawyer is a person who has studied law, passed a test, and been licensed by the state.

A lawyer helps you with legal problems.

You would hire a lawyer if you’d been accused of a crime, or if you wanted to force someone to obey a law that they’re breaking.

When talking about a dog, letting it loose means to allow it to roam around without tying it up.

In many places, there are laws against letting a dog loose.

But if a dog or other animal has been tied up too long and can’t get to food, you may want to let it loose to help it.

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