postpone
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to put off to a later time; defer.
He has postponed his departure until tomorrow.
-
to place after in order of importance or estimation; subordinate.
to postpone private ambitions to the public welfare.
verb
-
to put off or delay until a future time
-
to put behind in order of importance; defer
Related Words
See defer 1.
Other Word Forms
- nonpostponable adjective
- postponable adjective
- postponement noun
- postponer noun
- repostpone verb (used with object)
- unpostponable adjective
- unpostponed adjective
- well-postponed adjective
Etymology
Origin of postpone
First recorded in 1490–1500; from Latin postpōnere “to put after, lay aside,” equivalent to post- post- + pōnere “to put”
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.
The security service directed a source to persuade her to postpone the divorce in order to gather more information on the actor, the document said.
Her first transfer date was postponed after a doctor said her uterus wasn’t ready, but she started hormone therapy to try again.
On Wednesday, organisers of some Christmas and Boxing Day swims in Devon and Cornwall postponed or cancelled events due to a yellow weather warning for wind.
From BBC
That date is traditionally the day after Christmas, but for the second time in seven years, the forecast of heavy rain caused Santa Anita officials to postpone “extended Christmas” by two days.
From Los Angeles Times
Organisers of the Coverack swim in Cornwall said with the weather forecast it would be "too dangerous" for the event to go ahead and postponed the event until New Year's Day.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
