adjourn
Americanverb (used with object)
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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.
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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.
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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)
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to postpone, suspend, or transfer proceedings.
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to go to another place.
After dinner the ladies adjourned to the parlor.
verb
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(intr) (of a court, etc) to close at the end of a session
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to postpone or be postponed, esp temporarily or to another place
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(tr) to put off (a problem, discussion, etc) for later consideration; defer
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informal (intr)
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to move elsewhere
let's adjourn to the kitchen
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to stop work
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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adjournsimple
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adjournssimple
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have adjournedperfect
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has adjournedperfect
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am adjourningprogressive
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are adjourningprogressive
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is adjourningprogressive
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have been adjourningperfect progressive
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has been adjourningperfect progressive
Past
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adjournedsimple
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had adjournedperfect
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was adjourningprogressive
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were adjourningprogressive
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had been adjourningperfect progressive
Future
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."
Vocabulary lists containing adjourn
The Constitution of the United States
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Vocabulary from The Articles of Confederation
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Vocabulary from the Constitution of the United States
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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:
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
Mr Justice Rooney said the best option was to adjourn the inquest until August or September to allow all members of the jury to participate in the process until it concludes.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
Before we adjourn, a final question: What will next year’s healthcare roundtable focus on?
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2025
They all agreed that they would get rid of this hot potato, adjourn quickly and go home for the holidays.
From Salon ● Dec. 20, 2024
The trial would adjourn until eight o’clock the following morning, at which time the power company expected to have the lights on.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
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
When she returns empty-handed, the Senate adjourns, leaving hundreds of bills, stored in a growing stack of blue and yellow folders, untouched.
From New York Times ● Jun. 4, 2023
With less than a week before legislative session adjourns on June 5, the plan faces an uncertain path in Nevada’s Legislature.
From Seattle Times ● May 29, 2023
As Coin adjourns the meeting, Haymitch asks her if he can speak to me privately.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
The misconduct hearing began on Wednesday morning in Noble's absence and has since been adjourned.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Parliament was adjourned on Tuesday after the opposition benches demanded a discussion on the alleged "brutality unleashed on students".
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
The case was adjourned by Judge Charlotte Murphy until 19 August for reports to be done and he was released on unconditional bail.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Following a vote, the meeting was then adjourned until a later date.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
The assembly, suppressing a growl of disgust at Mr. Tuffett’s indulgence in the oldest schoolmaster’s trick on record, adjourned and followed him to the front of the building.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
"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
Before adjourning for a break, the judge made it clear that he felt unconvinced by the arguments.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2024
Plus, adjourning for snacks midgame and having to pause is just a bummer.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 10, 2023
Before adjourning, the chairman encouraged her to invite “the ladies of the land” to form their own anti-slavery societies.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
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.
