postpone
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to put off to a later time; defer.
He has postponed his departure until tomorrow.
-
to place after in order of importance or estimation; subordinate.
to postpone private ambitions to the public welfare.
verb
-
to put off or delay until a future time
-
to put behind in order of importance; defer
Related Words
See defer 1.
Other Word Forms
- nonpostponable adjective
- postponable adjective
- postponement noun
- postponer noun
- repostpone verb (used with object)
- unpostponable adjective
- unpostponed adjective
- well-postponed adjective
Etymology
Origin of postpone
First recorded in 1490–1500; from Latin postpōnere “to put after, lay aside,” equivalent to post- post- + pōnere “to put”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A later planned trip was postponed and a news conference held in Downing Street instead, such were the dominance and volume of international news.
From BBC
For the same reason, the government has also had to postpone the annual winter musk ox hunt that was due to start on January 31.
From Barron's
Monday's deposition was originally scheduled for last August but was postponed by Comer after a request from Maxwell's lawyers to wait for a Supreme Court ruling related to her case.
From BBC
Voting has been postponed in areas worst-hit by flooding from Storm Leonardo, which triggered mass evacuations in the Iberian Peninsula.
From BBC
I also bring my own lunch to the office, shop at outlet stores, and have postponed a gift to take advantage of those sales that begin immediately after Christmas.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
