Synonyms

suspend

American

[suh-spend] / səˈspɛnd /

verb (used with object)

to hang by attachment to something above.

to suspend a chandelier from the ceiling.
to attach so as to allow free movement.

to suspend a door on a hinge.
to keep from falling, sinking, forming a deposit, etc., as if by hanging.

to suspend solid particles in a liquid.
to hold or keep undetermined; refrain from forming or concluding definitely.

to suspend one's judgment.
to defer or postpone.

to suspend sentence on a convicted person.
to cause to cease or bring to a stop or stay, usually for a time.

to suspend payment.

Synonyms:

discontinue, intermit
to cause to cease for a time from operation or effect, as a law, rule, privilege, service, or the like.

to suspend ferry service.
to debar, usually for a limited time, from the exercise of an office or function or the enjoyment of a privilege.

The student was suspended from school.
to keep in a mood or feeling of expectation or incompleteness; keep waiting in suspense.

Finish the story; don't suspend us in midair.
Music. to prolong (a note or tone) into the next chord.

verb (used without object)

to come to a stop, usually temporarily; cease from operation for a time.
to stop payment; be unable to meet financial obligations.
to hang or be suspended, as from another object.

The chandelier suspends from the ceiling.
to be suspended, as in a liquid, gas, etc.

suspend British

/ səˈspɛnd /

verb

(tr) to hang from above so as to permit free movement
(tr; passive) to cause to remain floating or hanging

a cloud of smoke was suspended over the town
(tr) to render inoperative or cause to cease, esp temporarily

to suspend interest payments
(tr) to hold in abeyance; postpone action on

to suspend a decision
(tr) to debar temporarily from privilege, office, etc, as a punishment
(tr) chem to cause (particles) to be held in suspension in a fluid
(tr) music to continue (a note) until the next chord is sounded, with which it usually forms a dissonance See suspension
(intr) to cease payment, as from incapacity to meet financial obligations
obsolete (tr) to put or keep in a state of anxiety or wonder
obsolete (intr) to be attached from above

"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

Usage

What does suspend mean? Suspend most commonly means to cause to stop, to bring to a stop, to withhold, or to postpone, as in The bank has suspended payments or All activities have been suspended until further notice. It also commonly means to hang something by attaching it to something else, especially with ropes or cables, as in We need to suspend the banner from the ceiling. More specifically, suspend can mean to officially punish someone, such as an employee, student, or athlete, so that they are not allowed to participate in an activity for a certain period of time, as in He was suspended for five games for fighting. A person punished in this way is said to be suspended. The noun form suspension can be used for most senses of suspend to refer to an instance or the process of suspending.

Synonym Usage

See interrupt.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of suspend

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English suspenden, from Latin suspendere “to hang up,” equivalent to sus- sus- + pendere (transitive) “to hang” ( see pend, suspense)

Explanation

You can use the verb suspend any time you need to stop something. Whether it’s your judgment, a rule, or bus service, when you suspend it, you temporarily bring it to a halt. Suspend often describes stopping an activity for a while. A winter storm, for example, may suspend air travel until weather conditions improve. Suspend also works in a more figurative sense, such as when you suspend your doubt in order to give someone or something a fair chance. A student who is suspended is temporarily forbidden from attending class. Don't confuse this with expel, which means he or she may never return.

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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:

suspend suspends suspended suspending

The SEC can seek civil monetary penalties and the return of illegal profits, and bar or suspend an individual from serving as a corporate officer or director, among other remedies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Depop, eBay as well as Vinted have previously said they would suspend or ban users if they were caught selling counterfeit goods.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

In another video Margerison, from Rochdale, recorded a tour of the bridge of the CalMac ferry Loch Seaforth, prompting the firm to suspend the popular visits.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

The steep losses prompted Korea Exchange to briefly suspend trading twice in each of the main Kospi index and the tech-heavy Kosdaq.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

But Kitty wouldn’t budge and, as far as the school was concerned, it was a matter of were they going to suspend Kitty or let her finish and go on to college.

From "145th Street: Short Stories" by Walter Dean Myers

“The invocation of national security is not a magic incantation that suspends the rule of law,” they added.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

It will also institute a “proactive lockout” that suspends access when the system detects suspicious behavior.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

The agreement only explicitly suspends Iranian tolls for the 60-day duration and calls for Iran and Oman to “conduct dialogue” about strait management alongside other Persian Gulf states and “in line with applicable international law.”

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026

The ruling also suspends a Pentagon designation of Anthropic, creator of the Claude AI model, as a national security supply chain risk -- a label typically reserved for organizations from unfriendly foreign countries.

From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026

Thus war suspends intercourse and commerce between citizens or subjects of belligerent nations; it renders, during its continuance, the performance of contracts previously made unlawful.

From Monopolies and the People by D. C. Cloud

He was suspended for a year and then resigned.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

Ghent University suspended Cofnas on August 20, 2026, while it conducted an investigation into his actions.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026

He was suspended before the day was out.

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026

After he was charged, the party suspended him again and he is listed on the Sunderland City Council website as an Independent.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Within, there are overlapping metal hoops marked with numbers and symbols suspended from the top, hanging amongst the visible gears and a series of stars falling from the filigree cap at the top.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

The Swans were praised for their swift action in suspending the players, although initial comments from chief executive Matthew Pavlich also drew criticism.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

On Tuesday, the UAE announced that it was suspending all economic dealings with Iran after saying it had been targeted by two ballistic missiles.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

The Pontiac, Mich., company said it was suspending its common-stock payouts and getting financing from Oaktree Capital Management, a lender to distressed companies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Tuesday's meeting was called after several EU members expressed concern over Spain's handling of the crisis, with Italy describing images from Ceuta as "shocking" and suspending its Schengen agreement with Spain.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

I eased down beside her, suspending my breath at the water’s sting.

From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023