SINCE 1828
dictionary
thesaurus
view recents

adjournment

noun
Save Word
ad·​journ·​ment | \ ə-ˈjərn-mənt How to pronounce adjournment (audio) \

Definition of adjournment

1 : the act of adjourning adjournment of a meeting
2 : the state or interval of being adjourned a brief adjournment

Examples of adjournment in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Lawmakers took a temporary adjournment during the 2020 session because of the COVID-19 pandemic. — Derek Draplin, Washington Examiner, "Colorado Gov. Jared Polis calls for special session on COVID-19 relief," 18 Nov. 2020 Zuma left the hearing during an adjournment on Thursday without requesting Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s permission. — Michael Cohen, Bloomberg.com, "Zuma Abandons Graft Probe to Defy Judge Who Wouldn’t Quit," 19 Nov. 2020 The adjournment of the Senate also means that Americans are unlikely to see another direct payment of $1,200 ahead in the near future. — Grace Segers, CBS News, "Senate adjourns, shutting down prospects for passing COVID relief bill ahead of election," 27 Oct. 2020 Harry kept doing Harry stuff, including keeping the Senate in session weeks past the scheduled adjournment for the holidays. — Barack Obama, The New Yorker, "A President Looks Back on His Toughest Fight," 26 Oct. 2020 Congress will ultimately have to return in a lame-duck session, the period between Election Day and the chamber’s adjournment at the end of the year, and approve the annual must-pass legislation needed to fund the government. — Emily Cochrane, New York Times, "House Approves Short-Term Bill to Avoid a Shutdown," 22 Sep. 2020 Mark Summers, a lawyer representing Mr. Assange, on Monday asked the court for an adjournment until January to give the defense time to answer fresh allegations against the WikiLeaks founder presented by the Justice Department in June. — Jason Douglas, WSJ, "Julian Assange’s Request to Delay His Extradition Hearing Is Rejected by U.K. Judge," 7 Sep. 2020 Lawmakers will return in mid-September for three weeks of votes and will gavel out by Oct. 2, which Hoyer has set as the target adjournment date ahead of the November election. — Susan Ferrechio, Washington Examiner, "House will be mostly absent until mid-November," 10 Aug. 2020 District Judge Vanessa Baraitser refused, saying the defense has had ample time since June to request an adjournment and shouldn’t have done so once proceedings were again under way. — Jason Douglas, WSJ, "Julian Assange’s Request to Delay His Extradition Hearing Is Rejected by U.K. Judge," 7 Sep. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'adjournment.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

See More

First Known Use of adjournment

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for adjournment

Middle English ajournement, borrowed from Anglo-French, from ajourner "to adjourn" + -ment -ment

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about adjournment

Time Traveler for adjournment

Time Traveler

The first known use of adjournment was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century

Statistics for adjournment

Last Updated

21 Dec 2020

Cite this Entry

“Adjournment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adjournment. Accessed 28 Jan. 2021.

Keep scrolling for more

More from Merriam-Webster on adjournment

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for adjournment

Nglish: Translation of adjournment for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about adjournment

Comments on adjournment

What made you want to look up adjournment? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Show Comments  Hide Comments 

WORD OF THE DAY

jeopardy

Listen to the pronunciation of jeopardy

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

Slippery Words Quiz—Changing with the Times

  • ducreux self portrait yawning
  • What is an earlier meaning of nice?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Universal Daily Crossword

A daily challenge for crossword fanatics.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games