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
- adjournment noun
- preadjourn verb
- readjourn verb
Etymology
Origin of adjourn
1300–50; Middle English ajo ( u ) rnen < Middle French ajo ( u ) rner, equivalent to a- ad- + jorn- < Latin diurnus daily; journal, journey
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.
Before we adjourn, a final question: What will next year’s healthcare roundtable focus on?
From Barron's • Sep. 26, 2025
Gaetz resigned in the current session of Congress, which does not officially adjourn until Jan. 2, 2025.
From Salon • Nov. 22, 2024
On Monday, the inquest is expected to hear submissions on a request by Paterson to adjourn proceedings.
From BBC • Oct. 7, 2024
He then made a motion to adjourn the meeting, without further comment.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 26, 2024
It's a nice day out, and we'll adjourn and give the jury the rest of the day off unless somebody has an objection.
From "Monster" by Walter Dean Myers
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.
