postpone

1 of 2

verb

post·​pone (ˌ)pōs(t)-ˈpōn 

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

postponable

(ˌ)pōs(t)-ˈpō-nə-bəl 

adjective

postponement

(ˌ)pōs(t)-ˈpōn-mənt 

noun

postponer noun

postponement

2 of 2

noun

post·​pone·​ment -mənt 

plural -s

: the act of postponing or the condition of being postponed : deferment, delay

ordered a 30-day postponement

the temporary postponement of inflation

—Clark Kerr

Synonyms of postpone

Verb

• defer
• delay

Choose the Right Synonym for 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

Examples of postpone in a Sentence

Verb

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 on the Web

Verb

One woman said her surgery had been postponed because of the network outage. — Andrea Lucia, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026

Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak postponed a hearing on the request in light of a Wednesday ruling from Judge Jennifer Lynch. — Evy Lewis, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026

But both Europe’s and California’s original deadlines were postponed, and there’s a possibility of further delays or walkbacks. — Olivia Raimonde, Fortune, 12 Aug. 2026

Travelers with plans to visit Big Sur are being urged to postpone their trips as the Timber Fire continues to grow, even if their hotels remain open and outside the evacuation zone. — Caelyn Pender, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

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

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for postpone

• alone
• atone
• backbone
• bemoan
• bluestone
• breastbone
• brownstone
• capstone
• cheekbone
• condone
• curbstone
• cyclone

Kids Definition

postpone

verb

post·​pone pōs(t)-ˈpōn 

postponed; postponing

: to put off (as an action or event) until a later time

rain forced us to postpone the picnic

postponement

-mənt 

noun

Legal Definition

postpone

transitive verb

post·​pone

postponed; postponing

1

: to put off to a later time

2

: to place later in precedence, preference, or importance

specifically : to subordinate (a lien) to a later lien

postponable adjective

postponement noun