adjourn

[uh-jurn]

verb (used with object)

to suspend the meeting of (a club, legislature, committee, etc.) to a future time, another place, or indefinitely: to adjourn the court.

to defer or postpone to a later time: They adjourned the meeting until the following Monday.

to defer or postpone (a matter) to a future meeting of the same body.

to defer or postpone (a matter) to some future time, either specified or not specified.

verb (used without object)

to postpone, suspend, or transfer proceedings.

to go to another place: to adjourn to the parlor.

Origin of adjourn

1300–50; Middle English ajo(u)rnen < Middle French ajo(u)rner, equivalent to a- ad- + jorn- < Latin diurnus daily; see journal, journey

Related formspre·ad·journ, verbre·ad·journ, verbun·ad·journed, adjective

Can be confusedadjoin adjourn

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for adjourning

defer, recess, discontinue, delay, suspend, shelve, postpone, curb, restrain, stay, prorogue

Examples from the Web for adjourning

Historical Examples of adjourning

More than once the convention was on the point of adjourning sine die.
Union and Democracy
Allen Johnson
"Adjourning—you mean," interrupted one of the orator's audience.
Lords of the North
A. C. Laut
It is one oclock, A.M., and no one seems yet to think of adjourning the debate.
Saunterings in and about London
Max Schlesinger
So take it either way, adjourning the trial would be of no use to you.
The Battle of The Press
Theophila Carlile Campbell
Come, gentlemen, there needs no great ceremony in adjourning this court.
The Recruiting Officer
George Farquhar

British Dictionary definitions for adjourning

adjourn

verb

(intr) (of a court, etc) to close at the end of a session

to postpone or be postponed, esp temporarily or to another place

(tr) to put off (a problem, discussion, etc) for later consideration; defer

(intr) informal

to move elsewherelet's adjourn to the kitchen
to stop work

Derived Formsadjournment, noun

Word Origin for adjourn

C14: from Old French ajourner to defer to an arranged day, from a- to + jour day, from Late Latin diurnum, from Latin diurnus daily, from diēs day

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for adjourning

adjourn

early 14c., ajournen, "assign a day" (for convening or reconvening), from Old French ajourner (12c.) "meet" (at an appointed time), from the phrase à jorn "to a stated day" (à "to" + journ "day," from Latin diurnus "daily;" see diurnal).

The sense is to set a date for a re-meeting. Meaning "to close a meeting" (with or without intention to reconvene) is from early 15c. Meaning "to go in a body to another place" (1640s) is colloquial. The unhistorical -d- was added 16c. Related: Adjourned; adjourning.