postpone
Americanverb (used with object)
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postpones,
present (3rd person singular)
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postponed,
past participle, past
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postponing
present participle
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to put off to a later time; defer.
He has postponed his departure until tomorrow.
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to place after in order of importance or estimation; subordinate.
to postpone private ambitions to the public welfare.
verb
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to put off or delay until a future time
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to put behind in order of importance; defer
Synonym Usage
See defer 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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postponementnoun
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postponernoun
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repostponeverb (used with object)
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nonpostponableadjective
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postponableadjective
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unpostponableadjective
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unpostponedadjective
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well-postponedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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postponesimple
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postponessimple
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have postponedperfect
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has postponedperfect
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am postponingprogressive
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are postponingprogressive
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is postponingprogressive
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have been postponingperfect progressive
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has been postponingperfect progressive
Past
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postponedsimple
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had postponedperfect
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was postponingprogressive
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were postponingprogressive
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had been postponingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of postpone
First recorded in 1490–1500; from Latin postpōnere “to put after, lay aside,” equivalent to post- post- + pōnere “to put”
Explanation
To postpone something is to put it off until later. You can postpone an appointment today and reschedule it for tomorrow. Anything you're putting for is being postponed: people postpone things they don't have time to do or just don't want to do. Since doctor and dental appointments are no fun, people postpone them a lot. You can postpone small things, like going to the store or watching a video. The government can postpone big things, like the passing of bills or the invasion of another country. People who procrastinate are constantly postponing. When you see the word postpone, think "Later!"
Vocabulary lists containing postpone
Anti-Antonyms: Words Without Opposites
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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.
See Examples For:
That added heat helped postpone autumn freeze-up, which in turn extended the melt season.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
It could also postpone the products and revenue intended to justify those investments.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
In later years, Parton had to postpone or cancel several shows for health treatment.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
The fabled entertainer died after a series of health issues that led her to postpone several performing commitments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
I helped Dean lay the table to postpone going home.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
The plan also postpones more complex negotiations over its nuclear programme, a major sticking point for Trump.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
Gen. Ambrose Burnside as commander of the Army of the Potomac, “but if the couchant lion postpones his spring too long, people will begin wondering whether he is not a stuffed specimen after all.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
Billy Joel postpones his tour to take a four-month break to focus on his health and recovery from an undisclosed ‘medical condition.’
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2025
It postpones certain tax-filing deadlines for Americans and their spouses who are wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad.
From Slate ● Nov. 20, 2024
It is not often that a man postpones to his seventy-sixth year, and then successfully executes, the crowning task of his life.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 8 "Hudson River" to "Hurstmonceaux" by Various
The Bahrain event was originally scheduled to take place in April but was postponed because of the war in the Middle East.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
After Richie’s first unspecified health scare on tour earlier this summer, he postponed a pair of shows in Chicago and Columbus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Because even tiny disturbances can matter in an experiment this sensitive, he postponed the reveal and returned to the analysis.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
Before the postponed Holtec IPO, investors were spooked after UBS downgraded NuScale to “sell,” questioning its path to profitability.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Twice that day already, he realized now, Major Major had come racing toward him inside the ditch; and twice that day the chaplain had stupidly postponed the destined meeting by bolting into the forest.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
“Waiting and postponing is not, in my opinion, an option.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Motoring group the RAC has said drivers whose cars don't have effective air conditioning should "strongly consider" postponing non-essential journeys until the weather warnings are lifted.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Some demographers see these women as simply postponing pregnancy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
Critics say it’s just postponing coal’s inevitable demise.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026
He had the responsibility more than all the other gods together of postponing as long as possible the day of doom, Ragnarok, when heaven and earth would be destroyed.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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.
