Cancel
In short
To cancel is to decide that a planned event, agreement, or order will no longer take place. It involves stopping something before it happens.
In plain words
When you cancel, you call something off. You might cancel a meeting because you are busy or cancel a shop order because you changed your mind. It means the plan is now void.
A simple example
If you book a table at a restaurant for 7 pm but feel unwell, you call them to cancel. This allows the restaurant to give the table to someone else.
Why it matters
Cancelling helps manage time and resources effectively. It prevents people from wasting effort on things that are no longer happening.
Easy to mix up
Do not confuse cancelling with postponing, which means moving an event to a later date rather than stopping it entirely.