Cancel nine to begin with? Nine (3)
I believe the answer is:
nix
'cancel' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'nine to begin with? nine' is the wordplay.
'to begin with?' suggests taking the first letters (I've seen 'begin with' mean this).
'nine' becomes 'IX' (roman numeral).
The first letter of 'nine' is 'n'.
'n'+'ix'='NIX'
(Other definitions for nix that I've seen before include "Watch out for" , "0" , "Cancel" , "Spiteful water spirit" , "water sprite" .)