adjourn
/əˈdʒəːn
/verb [with object]
1Break off (a meeting, legal case, or game) with the intention of resuming it later: the meeting was adjourned until December 4 [no object]: let’s adjourn and reconvene at 2 o’clock...
- He said he would refer the issue to the Attorney General for legal advice and adjourn the case until January 31, 2002.
- The case was adjourned for a short break when the court heard that both defendants were feeling unwell.
- The defence asked for time to obtain expert opinion from a US legal expert and the case was adjourned until Tuesday 18 October.
1.1 [no object, with adverbial] (Of a group of people) go somewhere for rest or refreshment: they adjourned to a local pub...
- Following Mass the group adjourned to Gavin's Golden Hill House where a delicious luncheon awaited everyone.
- After inspection the group adjourned to Corpus Christy Communal Centre where tea was served and the signing took place.
- After a walk round the extensive gardens and lake, the group adjourned to Lullingstone for lunch.
Synonyms
withdraw, retire, retreat, beat a retreat, take oneself, decamp, depart, go out, go off, go away, exit
formal repair, remove
literary betake oneself
rare abstract oneself
1.2Put off or postpone (a resolution or sentence): sentence was adjourned for a social inquiry report...
- Mr. Justice Carney said the only reason he adjourned the sentence and further hearing was because the youth faced a term of detention.
- The man, of Bideford, Devon, had his bail extended by Judge John Neligan, who adjourned sentence for a pre-sentence report.
- The judge warned the duo they must not assume the fact he had adjourned sentence for pre-sentence reports meant he was in any way indicating what penalty would follow.
Synonyms
suspend, break off, discontinue, interrupt, postpone, put off, put back, defer, delay, hold over, hold in abeyance, shelve, pigeonhole, stay, prorogue, dissolve, terminate, bring to an end, halt, call a halt to;
pause, suspend proceedings, take a break, recess, break up, end, come to an end;
North American put over, table, lay on the table, take a recess
informal put on ice, put on the back burner, put in cold storage, mothball, take a breather, let up, knock off, take five
North American informal take a rain check
North American Law continue
rare remit, respite
Origin
Middle English (in the sense 'summon someone to appear on a particular day'): from Old French ajorner, from the phrase a jorn (nome) 'to an (appointed) day'.
Now adjourn suggests ‘break off (until a later time)’, but the early sense was ‘summon someone to appear on a particular day’. It comes from Old French ajorner, from the phrase a jorn (nome) ‘to an (appointed) day’.