What does suspend mean?
Suspend means to stop or temporarily interrupt something, such as an activity, payment, meeting, or legal proceeding. It can also mean to hold or hang something from a support. The word often suggests that an action may resume later: a suspended performance is delayed rather than permanently abandoned. In administrative and legal contexts, 'suspend' has a precise institutional meaning, as in suspending an employee, payment, or proceedings. The expression 'suspend disbelief' is distinctive because it means willingly to set aside skepticism while experiencing a story or performance. Overall, suspend combines the ideas of interruption and temporary postponement with the older literal image of something being held or hung in place. It is useful when describing a deliberate pause, an imposed interruption, or the physical act of hanging an object.
verbTo stop or temporarily interrupt an activity, process, or operation. It can also mean to cause something to hang from a support.
- To stop or temporarily interrupt an activity, process, or operation.
- To prevent someone from continuing an activity or exercise an activity, usually temporarily.
- To cause something to hang from a support.
- To formally postpone or defer legal proceedings, a decision, or an activity.
"The committee decided to suspend the meeting until further notice."
"Heavy rain forced the organizers to suspend the outdoor concert."
"The lamp was suspended from the ceiling by a long cord."
To suspend something is to put it on hold; the word also literally means to hang it from above.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does suspend come from?
The English word comes through Old French from Latin suspendere, formed from sus- 'under or beneath' and pendere 'to hang'. Its original sense was to hang or support from above. The meaning 'to stop or interrupt' developed from the idea of holding something in a suspended or temporarily arrested state. The related word suspense shares the same Latin root and refers, in its older use, to the condition of being kept in suspension.
Related word forms
How suspend is actually used
The word is formal in administrative, legal, and business contexts, but is also common in general use. In phrases such as 'suspend disbelief,' it describes temporarily setting aside doubt or skepticism for imaginative or dramatic purposes.
Easily confused with suspend
Suspend means to interrupt or temporarily stop something, whereas sustain means to support, maintain, or keep something going.