adjournment
Americannoun
-
adjournments
plural
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of adjournment
1635–45; < Anglo-French adjournement, Middle French. See adjourn, -ment
Explanation
When you end something or postpone it to a later time, that's an adjournment. When an initially friendly meeting becomes an angry shouting match, it might be time for an adjournment. Members at a company board meeting might request an adjournment for lunch, agreeing to reconvene in an hour. Court cases take similar adjournments, pausing for the weekend or holidays. The Supreme Court's regular schedule includes a summer-long adjournment that doesn't end until the first Monday in October, when a new session begins. The Old French source, ajornement, meant both "daybreak" and "summons to appear in court." Adjourn was initially used to mean "set a date to reconvene."
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:
The most recent request for an adjournment of a scheduled status conference came in September.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
And lawmakers from across the political spectrum on Tuesday condemned the fire and called for sweeping reforms in building safety, emergency response and urban governance, as the House debated an adjournment motion on the tragedy.
From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2026
Judge Watson said he was satisfied passing sentence in the absence of the defendant, noting an adjournment was not likely to compel him to attend court.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2025
Following an adjournment in March, the inquest into Danan's death resumed earlier at Avon Coroner's Court in Flax Bourton before assistant coroner Deborah Rookes.
From BBC ● May 28, 2025
Justice de Wet gave us a three-week adjournment until October 29.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Quick hearings lead to adjournments — and the backlog grows.
From New York Times ● Jan. 13, 2024
There is no evidence at this time that there is any relationship between the two adjournments.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 5, 2023
It details repeated adjournments and administrative delays, with cases regularly taking two years.
From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2022
They regularly suggested “the lack of a quorum,” requiring a roll call of senators and in some cases even forcing adjournments when a quorum wasn’t present.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 12, 2022
Bobby had two adjournments to play and analyze by himself.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
