Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To suspend until a later stated time.
  • intransitive verb To suspend proceedings to another time or place.
  • intransitive verb To move from one place to another.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To put off or defer, properly to another day, but also till a later period indefinitely.
  • Specifically To suspend the meeting of, as a public or private body, to a future day or to another place; also, defer or postpone to a future meeting of the same body: as, the court adjourned the consideration of the question.
  • To suspend a sitting or transaction till another day, or transfer it to another place: usually said of legislatures, courts, or other formally organized bodies: as, the legislature adjourned at four o'clock; the meeting adjourned to the town hall.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To suspend business for a time, as from one day to another, or for a longer period, or indefinitely; usually, to suspend public business, as of legislatures and courts, or other convened bodies
  • transitive verb To put off or defer to another day, or indefinitely; to postpone; to close or suspend for the day; -- commonly said of the meeting, or the action, of convened body

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To postpone.
  • verb transitive Temporarily ending an event with intentions to complete it at another time or place.
  • verb intransitive Of an event: To end or suspend
  • verb intransitive, formal, uncommon To move from one place to another.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb break from a meeting or gathering
  • verb close at the end of a session

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English ajournen, from Old French ajourner : a-, to (from Latin ad-; see ad–) + jour, day (from Late Latin diurnum, from Latin diurnus, daily, from diēs, day; see dyeu- in Indo-European roots).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French ajorner (French ajourner), from the phrase a jor (nomé) ("to an (appointed) day")

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Examples

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  • to adjourn – to suspend until a later stated time

    July 14, 2008