What does adjourn mean?
Adjourn is a formal verb meaning to suspend a meeting, session, or legal proceeding, either until a stated time or without setting one. A court may adjourn a trial overnight; a parliament may adjourn for weeks; a committee may simply adjourn when its business is done. Crucially, adjourning implies resumption — it pauses rather than terminates, which distinguishes it from words like dismiss or dissolve. The verb also has an informal, somewhat convivial use: people 'adjourn' to another room or venue after a gathering, as in 'we adjourned to the pub.' Derived from Old French via Latin roots relating to days and journeys, the word entered English in the medieval period through legal usage. Today it remains standard in British and American English, appearing constantly in news coverage of legislatures and courts, and its noun form, adjournment, is equally common in official records.
verbTo suspend or postpone a meeting, session, or legal proceeding, either to another time or indefinitely. It can also mean to move from one place to another, especially informally after a gathering.
- To suspend a meeting, court session, or proceeding temporarily or until a specified time.
- To postpone something to a future date.
- (Informal) To move from one place to another, especially after a meeting or meal.
"The judge adjourned the hearing until the following morning."
"Parliament adjourned for the summer recess."
"After dinner, we adjourned to the living room for coffee."
When you 'adjourn to the bar,' you're literally going on a journey — the word comes from Old French meaning 'to go to a day.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of adjourn
Adjourn comes from Old French 'ajourner', formed from 'a jour' meaning 'to (an appointed) day', ultimately from Latin 'dies' (day) via Vulgar Latin 'diurnum'. It entered English in the late Middle Ages, first in legal contexts concerning the postponement of courts. It shares this day-related root with words such as journey, journal, and sojourn.
Related word forms
How adjourn is actually used
Adjourn is chiefly formal and is most at home in parliamentary, legal, and organizational contexts. The informal sense of moving elsewhere ('let's adjourn to the garden') carries a slightly playful, old-fashioned flavor.
Easily confused with adjourn
Adjourn suspends proceedings temporarily with the expectation of resuming later, while dismiss ends them entirely.