Other forms: repealed; repealing; repeals
To repeal something — usually a law, ordinance or public policy — is to take it back. For example, dog lovers might want the town council to repeal the law that says residents can have no more than four dogs.
The verb repeal comes from the Anglo-French word repeler, “to call back.” Repeal is almost always used in the context of law: When a government decides to get rid of an ordinance or law, that ordinance or law is repealed. That means it is no longer in effect, like if the weather becomes unseasonably hot, the schools might repeal the part of the dress code to permit students to wear shorts.