adjourn

American  

[uh-jurn] / əˈdʒɜrn /

verb (used with object)

• adjourns,
  present (3rd person singular)
• adjourned,
  past participle,  past
• adjourning
  present participle

1. 

   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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

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verb (used without object)

• adjourns,
  present (3rd person singular)
• adjourned,
  past participle,  past
• adjourning
  present participle

1. to postpone, suspend, or transfer proceedings.

2. to go to another place.

   After dinner the ladies adjourned to the parlor.

adjourn British  

/ əˈdʒɜːn /

verb

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

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

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

4. informal (intr)

   1. to move elsewhere

      let's adjourn to the kitchen

   2. to stop work

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• adjournment
  noun
• preadjourn
  verb
• readjourn
  verb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• adjourning
  present
• adjourned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• adjourn
  simple
• adjourns
  simple
• have adjourned
  perfect
• has adjourned
  perfect
• am adjourning
  progressive
• are adjourning
  progressive
• is adjourning
  progressive
• have been adjourning
  perfect progressive
• has been adjourning
  perfect progressive

Past

• adjourned
  simple
• had adjourned
  perfect
• was adjourning
  progressive
• were adjourning
  progressive
• had been adjourning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will adjourn
  simple
• will have adjourned
  perfect
• will be adjourning
  progressive
• will have been adjourning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

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

Explanation

To adjourn is to close a session of something, like at court. People also adjourn when they go to bed. When something is adjourned, it's over. This word comes up most often in court. Lawyers and citizens don't have the power to adjourn — to call a recess in the proceedings. Only a judge can adjourn the court. This can also be used in any situation where someone is withdrawing from somewhere, or retiring for awhile. "I must adjourn!" is a fancy way of saying "I'm out of here! I need to get some sleep. See you tomorrow."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

adjourn adjourns adjourned adjourning

The approval comes just as the Legislature is set to adjourn its two-year session early this week.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

Both houses will adjourn for summer recess, the House on July 24 and the Senate on Aug. 10.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

In a dramatic conclusion on Friday, when countries should have been voting to approve the deal, Saudi Arabia tabled a motion to adjourn the talks for a year.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2025

Before we adjourn, a final question: What will next year’s healthcare roundtable focus on?

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2025

But as she was sleepier than any of them—she’d been rubbing her eyes for an hour—she consented to adjourn the meeting.

From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart

According to the Associated Press, the deal outlines a plan for the Senate to vote to confirm 13 more district court judges before the upper chamber adjourns in December.

From Salon ● Nov. 22, 2024

Laws passed in a special session and signed by the governor typically take affect 90 days after the session adjourns.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2024

Further votes affirming L.G.B.T.Q. clergy and churchgoers are expected before the meeting adjourns on Friday.

From New York Times ● May 1, 2024

Mr. McCarthy wants to pass the bill before Congress adjourns at the end of April.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 19, 2023

As Coin adjourns the meeting, Haymitch asks her if he can speak to me privately.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

The court adjourned until August 27 to check whether the tests "correspond to Diego Armando Maradona or someone else," presiding judge Alberto Gaig said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

With prosecuting counsel set to reply to the submissions, the judge adjourned the case to 1 September.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

The members adjourned without a vote to continue negotiations.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

The proceedings were adjourned until 14 April when a joint full inquest is expected to be held.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Then the state legislature handed over all emergency powers to the governor and adjourned until December.

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy

She said there was "reasonable cause to suspect" both deaths were unnatural and required a full inquest, adjourning proceedings for further inquiries.

From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026

"By adjourning the sentencing until after that election... the Court would reduce, even if not eliminate, issues regarding the integrity of any future proceedings," reads the Aug. 14 letter.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2024

District Judge Tim Pattinson ordered a pre-sentence report before adjourning the hearing for sentencing on 30 September.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2024

They quickly left the state Capitol after adjourning around noon.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 25, 2023

Then he banged his gavel heavily upon the rostrum, adjourning conclave and sealing their fate.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

Related Words

• defer
• delay
• discontinue
• postpone
• put off
• recess
• shelve
• suspend