Explanation at your level:
Adjourn means to stop a meeting. You stop now and start again later. It is a formal word. Use it at work or school.
When a group of people is meeting, they might need to stop. If they plan to meet again soon, they adjourn the meeting. It is like a break.
The word adjourn is used to describe pausing a formal event. It is common in courts or business. It is not the same as finishing; it is just a pause.
Use adjourn when you want to sound professional. It implies an official suspension of proceedings. It is very common in legal or parliamentary contexts.
In advanced English, adjourn carries a sense of procedural authority. It is used to denote the formal closing of a session. It is distinct from 'postpone' because it implies the session has already begun.
Etymologically, adjourn reflects the medieval need to set a 'day' for legal matters. In modern usage, it maintains this sense of structured time management. It is a staple of formal discourse and parliamentary procedure.
Word in 30 Seconds
- Adjourn means to pause.
- Used in formal settings.
- Comes from 'day'.
- Not a permanent finish.
When you hear the word adjourn, think of a pause button on a formal process. It is not a permanent stop; it is just a strategic break.
You will most often hear this in courtrooms or boardrooms. When a judge says, 'This court is adjourned,' they are telling everyone to leave for now, but to come back later to finish the case.
It is a professional way to say, 'We are done for today, but we will pick this up again later.' It implies that there is a plan to meet again, which separates it from words like 'cancel' or 'conclude'.
The word adjourn has a fascinating journey through history. It comes from the Old French word ajourner, which literally means 'to put off to a certain day.'
If you break that down, it comes from a (to) and jour (day). So, historically, to adjourn meant to set a specific day for the next meeting. It entered Middle English around the 14th century.
Isn't it cool how a word about meetings is rooted in the word for 'day'? It shows that even hundreds of years ago, people were very concerned about scheduling their appointments!
In daily life, adjourn is quite formal. You wouldn't use it to describe ending a casual lunch with friends; you would just say 'let's go.'
However, in business or legal settings, it is the standard term. Common collocations include 'adjourn the meeting,' 'adjourn the trial,' or 'adjourn for lunch.'
Using this word correctly shows you understand professional etiquette. It is a precise verb that leaves no room for confusion about whether the meeting is over forever or just paused.
While 'adjourn' itself isn't a common idiom, it is used in phrases like: 1. Adjourn to another room (moving the meeting elsewhere). 2. Adjourn sine die (a Latin phrase meaning to adjourn without a set date). 3. Adjourn for the day (stopping work until tomorrow). 4. Motion to adjourn (a formal request to end the session). 5. Adjourn into executive session (moving to a private meeting).
The word is a regular verb, so it becomes 'adjourned' in the past tense. The stress is on the second syllable: uh-JURN.
It rhymes with 'return,' 'burn,' and 'learn.' It is often used with prepositions like 'to' or 'for.' For example, 'We will adjourn to the lounge' or 'We will adjourn for the day.'
It is almost always used as an intransitive verb in formal settings, meaning it doesn't need an object to make sense, though it can take one in specific procedural contexts.
Fun Fact
It comes from the French word for day, 'jour'.
Pronunciation Guide
uh-JURN
uh-JURN
Common Errors
- pronouncing the 'd'
- misplacing the stress
- rhyming with 'turn' incorrectly
Rhymes With
Difficulty Rating
Easy
What to Learn Next
Prerequisites
Learn Next
Advanced
Grammar to Know
Regular Verbs
adjourn -> adjourned
Examples by Level
The meeting will adjourn at five.
meeting ends at 5
future tense
The court will adjourn.
We must adjourn.
Please adjourn now.
The class will adjourn.
The group will adjourn.
They will adjourn later.
The session will adjourn.
The judge decided to adjourn the trial.
We will adjourn for lunch.
The committee will adjourn until tomorrow.
The meeting was adjourned early.
Can we adjourn this talk?
The board will adjourn soon.
They agreed to adjourn.
The hearing was adjourned.
The chairman moved to adjourn the meeting.
We adjourned to the library to discuss further.
The trial was adjourned due to a lack of evidence.
The session was adjourned sine die.
They decided to adjourn until the next day.
The meeting adjourned at noon.
Shall we adjourn for coffee?
The council adjourned the debate.
The proceedings were adjourned until the following week.
The committee adjourned to consider the proposal.
The judge adjourned the case indefinitely.
He moved that the meeting be adjourned.
The hearing was adjourned to allow for more testimony.
The conference adjourned for the evening.
They adjourned to a private room.
The assembly was adjourned by the speaker.
The bench adjourned the matter pending further evidence.
The session was adjourned to facilitate private negotiations.
The tribunal adjourned the inquiry until further notice.
The meeting adjourned, much to everyone's relief.
The proceedings were adjourned to allow counsel to prepare.
The committee adjourned in a state of confusion.
The court adjourned, leaving the verdict uncertain.
Parliament was adjourned for the summer recess.
The session was adjourned sine die, leaving the issue unresolved.
The magistrate adjourned the proceedings with a stern warning.
The board adjourned to deliberate on the merger.
The hearing was adjourned, effectively stalling the process.
The assembly adjourned, marking the end of a long debate.
The judge adjourned the trial, citing procedural irregularities.
The session adjourned, and the members dispersed.
The inquiry was adjourned to accommodate the witness's schedule.
Common Collocations
Idioms & Expressions
"adjourn sine die"
adjourn without a date
The case was adjourned sine die.
formal""
""
""
""
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Easily Confused
both mean delay
adjourn is for meetings
Adjourn the meeting vs postpone the event.
Sentence Patterns
Subject + adjourn + prep
They adjourned to the hall.
Word Family
Nouns
Verbs
Adjectives
Related
How to Use It
6
Formality Scale
Common Mistakes
adjourn is for formal meetings
Tips
Memory Palace
Imagine a calendar page being turned.
Native Speakers
Use it in meetings.
Courtroom
Very common in law.
Verb
It is a regular verb.
Stress
Stress the second syllable.
Don't say adjourn a game.
Use pause.
Day
Root is 'jour' meaning day.
Flashcards
Use it with 'meeting'.
Memorize It
Mnemonic
AD-JOURN: Add a JOURNey to another day.
Visual Association
A judge hitting a gavel and walking out of a courtroom.
Word Web
Challenge
Use it in a fake meeting today.
Word Origin
Old French
Original meaning: to put off to a day
Cultural Context
None
Used in parliamentary and legal systems.
Practice in Real Life
Real-World Contexts
Business meeting
- adjourn the meeting
- motion to adjourn
Conversation Starters
"Have you ever had a meeting adjourn early?"
"Do you like long meetings?"
Journal Prompts
Describe a time you wanted a meeting to adjourn.
Frequently Asked Questions
8 questionsNo, adjourn is a pause.
Test Yourself
The meeting will ___ at 5 PM.
It fits the context of ending a meeting.
What does adjourn mean?
It is a temporary stop.
Adjourn means to cancel forever.
It means to pause until later.
Word
Meaning
Definitions match.
We adjourn the meeting.
Score: /5
Summary
Adjourn is a formal way to say 'let's take a break and come back later'.
- Adjourn means to pause.
- Used in formal settings.
- Comes from 'day'.
- Not a permanent finish.
Memory Palace
Imagine a calendar page being turned.
Native Speakers
Use it in meetings.
Courtroom
Very common in law.
Verb
It is a regular verb.
Example
Let's adjourn for lunch and meet back here at 2 PM.
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