definitions

adjourn

[ uh-jurn ]
/ əˈdʒɜrn /
|

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.

RELATED WORDS

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

Nearby words

adjigo, adjoin, adjoining, adjoint, adjoint differential equation, adjourn, adjournment, adjt., adjudge, adjudicate, adjudication

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

Examples from the Web for adjourning

British Dictionary definitions for adjourning

adjourn

/ (əˈdʒɜːn) /

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
  1. to move elsewherelet's adjourn to the kitchen
  2. 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

v.

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper