call off a deal

Meaning

To 'call off a deal' means to cancel an agreement, negotiation, or transaction before it is completed. It implies a decision to stop the process entirely, often due to a disagreement, a change in circumstances, or unfavorable terms.

Examples

• The board decided to call off the deal after reviewing the competitor's counteroffer.

  The board decided to call off the deal after reviewing the competitor's counteroffer.

• If they don't agree to our terms by Friday, we will have to call off the deal.

  If they don't agree to our terms by Friday, we will have to call off the deal.

• They unexpectedly called off the deal, leaving us to look for other partners.

  They unexpectedly called off the deal, leaving us to look for other partners.

• It's difficult to call off a deal once the contracts have been drafted, but it is still possible.

  It's difficult to call off a deal once the contracts have been drafted, but it is still possible.

• We had to call off the merger deal because of unexpected financial discrepancies.

  We had to call off the merger deal because of unexpected financial discrepancies.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ They cancelled off the deal last night.

  ✓ They called off the deal last night.

  The verb 'cancel' is transitive and does not take the preposition 'off'. You either 'cancel a deal' or 'call off a deal'. Mixing them together is incorrect.

• ✗ We had to call out the deal.

  ✓ We had to call off the deal.

  'Call out' means to challenge someone or shout. 'Call off' is the correct phrasal verb meaning to cancel.

Related Expressions

Practice

• The legal team advised us to ___ because of high financial risks.

  💡 Cancel the agreement entirely.

  Show answer

  call off the deal

• If they change the terms again, we will definitely ___.

  💡 Cancel the transaction.

  Show answer

  call off the deal