postpone

verb post·pone \ (ˌ)pōs(t)-ˈpōn \

|Updated on: 11 Jul 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: postpone in a Sentence

postponed; postponing

transitive verb

1 : to put off to a later time : defer

2 a : to place later (as in a sentence) than the normal position in English

postpone an adjective

b : to place later in order of precedence, preference, or importance

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postponable

play \(ˌ)pōs(t)-ˈpō-nə-bəl\ adjective

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postponement

play \(ˌ)pōs(t)-ˈpōn-mənt\ noun

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postponer

noun

See postpone defined for English-language learners

See postpone defined for kids

Examples of postpone in a Sentence

The baseball game was postponed until tomorrow because of rain.
we'll have to postpone a decision until we have all the information

Recent Examples of postpone from the Web

And before Blackman could make his first start, the Seminoles would have two games postponed by Hurricane Irma.

— andy staples, SI.com, "The Message Behind the Money: How Texas A&M Landed Jimbo Fisher," 28 June 2018
The liquor board hearing, the final step, was scheduled for last week but had to be postponed until Uprety provides a Memorandum of Understanding to show community support.

— anna muckerman, baltimoresun.com, "Alonso's restaurant in Roland Park to be sold," 26 June 2018
The Blue Wahoos had four games postponed or cancelled because of rain last week.

— bobby nightengale, Cincinnati.com, "Cincinnati Reds Beat Blog: Which Reds could make the 2018 MLB All-Star Game?," 5 June 2018
The Tigers have had six games postponed because of weather inside the first month of the season.

— kirkland crawford, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Tigers-Baltimore Orioles game on Wednesday moved to 1 p.m.," 17 Apr. 2018
The Kansas City Royals, for instance, have had four games postponed this spring - two at home, one in Detroit and one Monday night in Toronto.

— james b. nelson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Crummy baseball weather: 24 major league games postponed, fans warm, dry at Miller Park," 17 Apr. 2018
As a result, Monday's game has been moved to a doubleheader Tuesday, bringing the total games postponed this season because of weather to 24.

— steve gardner, USA TODAY, "Kansas City Royals team bus hit by chunk of flying ice, relief pitcher takes wheel," 16 Apr. 2018
The Edgewood girls lacrosse team opened its season with a win Monday, beating visiting Patapsco, 15-1, in a non-league game postponed from Friday.

— randy mcroberts, The Aegis, "Edgewood, Bel Air girls open lacrosse season with wins," 27 Mar. 2018
Due to wet field conditions and a weather forecast for additional rain, the Carpenter Cup championship game scheduled for Saturday was postponed to 3 p.m. Sunday at Citizens Bank Park.

— ed barkowitz, Philly.com, "Sports briefs: Cavs continue talks with LeBron, World Cup results, 'Melo news," 23 June 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of postpone

Latin postponere to place after, postpone, from post- + ponere to place — more at position

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First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

postpone Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of postpone

defer, postpone, suspend, stay mean to delay an action or proceeding. defer implies a deliberate putting off to a later time.

- deferred buying a car until spring

postpone implies an intentional deferring usually to a definite time.

- the game is postponed until Saturday

suspend implies temporary stoppage with an added suggestion of waiting until some condition is satisfied.

- business will be suspended while repairs are underway

stay often suggests the stopping or checking by an intervening agency or authority.

- the governor stayed the execution

POSTPONE Defined for English Language Learners

postpone

verb

: to decide that something which had been planned for a particular time will be done at a later time instead

POSTPONE Defined for Kids

postpone

verb post·pone \ pōst-ˈpōn \

postponed; postponing

: to put off until a later time

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postponement

\-mənt\ noun

Word Root of postpone

The Latin word ponere, meaning “to place” or “to put,” and its form positus give us the roots pon and pos. Words from the Latin ponere have something to do with putting. A position is the location or way in which something has been placed. To expose is to put out in the open. To postpone is to put off until a later time. Posture is the way a body has been placed.