HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY
To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.
Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.
THE USAGE PANEL
The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP
The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG
The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.
INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?
Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com
v. can·celed, can·cel·ing, can·cels also can·celled or can·cel·ling v.tr. 1. a. To annul or invalidate: cancel a credit card. b. To decide or announce that (a planned or scheduled event) will not take place, especially with no intention of holding it at a later time: cancel a picnic; cancel a soccer game. 2. a. To cross out with lines or other markings. See Synonyms at erase. b. To mark or perforate (a postage stamp or check, for example) to indicate that it may not be used again. 3. To neutralize or equalize; offset: Today's decline in stock price canceled out yesterday's gain. 4. Mathematics a. To remove (a common factor) from the numerator and denominator of a fractional expression. b. To remove (a common factor or term) from both sides of an equation or inequality. v.intr. To neutralize one another; counterbalance: two opposing forces that canceled out. n. The act or an instance of canceling; a cancellation. [Middle English cancellen, from Old French canceller, from Latin cancellāre, to cross out, from cancellus, lattice, diminutive of cancer, lattice.] cancel·a·ble adj. cancel·er n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
