ad ‧ journ /əˈdʒɜːn $ -ɜːrn/ BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: ajourner , from jour 'day' ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] if a meeting, parliament, law court etc adjourns, or if the person in charge adjourns it, it stops for a short time:
It was almost noon when the meeting adjourned.
adjourn for/until
Congress has adjourned for the November elections.
His trial was adjourned until May.
2 . adjourn to something to finish an activity and go somewhere – often used humorously:
The rest of us adjourned to a nearby pub for some refreshments.
—adjournment noun [uncountable and countable] :
We sought an adjournment of the proceedings.
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THESAURUS
▪ pause to stop speaking or stop doing something for a very short time before starting again. Pause is used especially in written descriptions. In everyday spoken English, people usually just say stop :
She paused at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at the clock.
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He paused, waiting for Larry to say something.
▪ hesitate to stop for a moment and wait before doing something, because you feel unsure or nervous about it:
She hesitated for a moment before replying.
▪ have/take a break to stop working for a short time in order to rest, eat etc:
We’re all getting tired. Let’s take a break for ten minutes.
▪ adjourn formal if a meeting or court adjourns or is adjourned, it stops for a short time:
If there are no more questions, the committee will adjourn until tomorrow morning.
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The trial was adjourned because one of the defendants was ill.
▪ take five especially American English informal to stop for a short time in order to rest:
Let’s take five and get some coffee.
▪ break off to suddenly stop speaking, especially because you see, hear, or think of something:
He broke off his conversation when he saw Mary running towards him.
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She broke off and looked embarrassed, then said, ‘I’ll explain later.’