adjourn

verb

ad·​journ ə-ˈjərn How to pronounce adjourn (audio)
adjourned; adjourning; adjourns

transitive verb

: to suspend indefinitely or until a later stated time
adjourn a meeting
Court is adjourned until 10 a.m. tomorrow.

intransitive verb

1
: to suspend a session indefinitely or to another time or place
Congress will not adjourn until the budget has been completed.
2
: to move to another place
We adjourned to the library.

Examples of adjourn in a Sentence

The chairperson has adjourned the meeting. Court is adjourned until 10:00 tomorrow. The meeting adjourned at 4:00. Congress will not adjourn until the budget has been completed.
Recent Examples on the Web On the other side of the Capitol, Speaker Mike Johnson, a Trump acolyte who owes his job to the ex-President’s backing, all but refused to bring the legislation to a vote, then adjourned the House for a two-week recess. Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2024 Kenneth Chesebro, Trump attorney considered architect of national fake elector scheme, could testify when hearings resume Simmons adjourned for the day before defense attorneys could cross-examine Shock. Arpan Lobo, Detroit Free Press, 14 Feb. 2024 With the legislative session set to adjourn March 9, delegates and senators still have to act on each others’ budgets. Laura Vozzella, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024 That is because last week current Speaker of the House Mike Johnson failed to take up the Ukraine bill in the House of Representatives and instead adjourned the chamber until February 28th. Andy J. Semotiuk, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024 After two hours, and roughly a dozen public speakers, Mayor Sue Kempf decided to adjourn the meeting and move it to another date. Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2024 After Democratic senators spent hours chewing up floor time, Senate GOP leadership Tuesday afternoon decided to adjourn for nearly a week until Monday. Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 13 Feb. 2024 The Legislature adjourned over the summer, but concern over the state’s drug crisis led Democrats to launch the committee in between sessions. Claire Rush, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Jan. 2024 With the jury out of the courtroom, Trump attorney Alina Habba made the defense's third request to adjourn the trial on Thursday so Trump could attend the funeral of former first lady Melania Trump's mother, Amalija Knavs, who died last Tuesday after a long health battle. Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 17 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'adjourn.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ajornen, ajournen, adjornen "to set a day for reconvening (a court or assembly), suspend temporarily, postpone," borrowed from Anglo-French ajorner, ajourner, from a- (going back to Latin ad- ad-) + jorn, jor "day," going back to Late Latin diurnum (Latin, "daily ration, daybook"), from neuter of Latin diurnus "daily" — more at diurnal entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of adjourn was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near adjourn

Cite this Entry

“Adjourn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adjourn. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

adjourn

verb
ad·​journ ə-ˈjərn How to pronounce adjourn (audio)
1
: to bring or come to a close for a period of time
Congress adjourned
adjourn a meeting
2
: to move to another place
let us adjourn to the sitting room
adjournment
-mənt
noun

Legal Definition

adjourn

transitive verb
ad·​journ ə-ˈjərn How to pronounce adjourn (audio)
: to put off further proceedings of either indefinitely or until a later stated time : close formally
adjourning the session

intransitive verb

: to suspend a session or meeting till another time or indefinitely : suspend formal business or procedure and disband
the congress will adjourn next month
adjournment noun

More from Merriam-Webster on adjourn

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