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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In an advisory opinion requested by Secretary of State Cole Jester, Attorney General Tim Griffin said acts without an emergency clause or specified effective day and passed during the 95th General Assembly's regular session that adjourned on May 5 will become effective on Aug. 5. arkansasonline.com, 7 July 2025 House members passed a resolution adjourning regular session business until Feb. 3, while the Senate ended regular business until Monday, Feb. 10, when Gov. Bill Lee is set to give his annual State of the State address. Vivian Jones, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025 Over the drumbeat of the chants, as the banging on the doors grows louder, the protesters rebuff the trustees' attempts to adjourn the meeting before hearing their demands. Elizabeth B. Kim, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025 The meeting devolved into a raucous discussion between councilmen about whether to simply adjourn. Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 20 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for adjourn

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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Adjourn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adjourn. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.

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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