adjourn
C1Formal
Definition
Meaning
To suspend a meeting or proceeding with the intention of resuming it later.
To temporarily cease an activity, or to move to a different location.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Primarily used in formal contexts like law, government, and business. Implies a planned, official, and often collective decision to pause, not to cancel. It can transitively suspend an event or intransitively describe the act of participants moving elsewhere.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Minimal. Both use identically. British English may be slightly more likely to use 'adjourn to' (a place) informally.
Connotations
Formal, procedural, deliberate.
Frequency
Comparable frequency in legal/governmental contexts; slightly less common in general AmE.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[VN] adjourn the meeting[V] The court will now adjourn.[V to N] Let's adjourn to the lounge.Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Adjourn to (a place) = to go to another place, especially after a meeting.”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Used formally to postpone a board meeting until a specified date.
Academic
Used in student council or faculty senate proceedings.
Everyday
Rare, except jocularly ('Let's adjourn to the pub').
Technical
Core term in parliamentary procedure and law (e.g., 'motion to adjourn').
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The committee voted to adjourn for the summer recess.
- Shall we adjourn to the drawing room for coffee?
American English
- The judge adjourned the trial until Monday.
- After the vote, Congress adjourned for the holidays.
adverb
British English
- N/A
American English
- N/A
adjective
British English
- N/A
American English
- N/A
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The meeting adjourned at 5 pm.
- Let's adjourn this discussion until tomorrow.
- Parliament will adjourn next week for the conference season.
- The hearing was adjourned to allow new evidence to be reviewed.
- The arbitration panel chose to adjourn the proceedings indefinitely, citing procedural irregularities.
- Having concluded the formal business, the members adjourned to a local restaurant.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a JOURNalist in a court. When the judge says 'We will ADJOURN,' the journalist notes 'A.D. JOURN' (Another Day in the Journal) – the case continues another day.
Conceptual Metaphor
TEMPORARY CESSATION IS A JOURNEY TO A LATER POINT (from Old French 'ajourner' – to summon to appear on a specified day).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid confusing with 'закрывать' (to close/end). 'Adjourn' is 'прервать (с намерением продолжить)', not 'закончить'.
- The phrase 'adjourn to' can be translated as 'перейти в' (другое место).
- Do not use for indefinite cancellation; use 'отложить на неопределённый срок' cautiously.
Common Mistakes
- Using it to mean 'cancel' (The game was adjourned due to rain* – use 'cancelled' or 'postponed').
- Pronouncing it with a hard 'd' (/ædʒ/ not /æd/).
- Using it in overly informal contexts where 'break' or 'stop' is better.
Practice
Quiz
In which context is 'adjourn' LEAST appropriate?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. It specifically means to pause with the intention of continuing later, either at a set time or indefinitely until recalled.
'Adjourn' pauses an ongoing formal proceeding. 'Postpone' delays a scheduled event before it starts. 'Cancel' terminates it entirely.
It sounds very formal. Informally, you can use it humorously ('Let's adjourn to the kitchen'), but otherwise, 'take a break' or 'stop for now' is more natural.
It can be both: transitive ('He adjourned the meeting'), intransitive ('The meeting adjourned'), or intransitive with 'to' ('We adjourned to the bar').