adjourn

[ uh-jurn ]

See synonyms for adjourn on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to suspend the meeting of (a club, legislature, committee, etc.) to a future time, another place, or indefinitely: At this point in the trial, the judge adjourned the court session so the defense could access and review the test results.
to defer or postpone to a later time: Too many board members would have been absent, so the chair adjourned the meeting to next Monday.

to defer or postpone (a matter) to a future meeting of the same body, or to a future time, specified or not specified: We will adjourn discussion of point 5.2 to our April meeting.

verb (used without object)

to postpone, suspend, or transfer proceedings.
to go to another place: After dinner the ladies adjourned 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

Other words from adjourn

pre·ad·journ, verb
re·ad·journ, verb

Words that may be confused with adjourn

adjoin, adjourn

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use adjourn in a sentence

If he leaves it to themselves to settle these proportions, he adjourns it to doomsday.
The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. I. (of 12) | Edmund Burke
The great thought with him was, I must reach 109 Washington before Congress adjourns, or all may be lost.
How Marcus Whitman Saved Oregon | Oliver W. Nixon
Why is it that one class is crowded each week, while another adjourns for lack of membership?
Principles of Teaching | Adam S. Bennion
It adjourns for holidays, too, and generally spares itself long sittings.
Congressional Government | Woodrow Wilson
Then we will say that it will shine out promptly when Congress adjourns and ceases to menace the national credit.
The Arena | Various

British Dictionary definitions for adjourn

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
- to move elsewhere: let's adjourn to the kitchen
- to stop work

Origin of 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

Derived forms of adjourn

adjournment, noun

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

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