postpone Hear it!

postpone definition

post·pone (pōst pōn′)

transitive verb postponed -·poned′, postponing -·pon′·ing

  1. to put off until later; defer; delay
  2. to put at or near the end of the sentence the German verb is postponed
  3. Rare to subordinate

Etymology: L postponere < post-, post- + ponere, to put: see position

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

postpone Synonyms

postpone

v.

defer, put off, delay, take a rain check; see delay 1, suspend 2. See syn. study at suspend.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

postpone Usage Examples

Object

  • agm: The Executive Committee may postpone the AGM if it would conflict with a Parliamentary Election in the Constituency, or for other urgent reason.

Adjective complement

  • due: Use of Web Site - postponed due to lack of time.

Modifying Another Word

  • indefinitely: No doubt Fergie is praying that the next Derby game with us ends up indefinitely postponed.

Used with why or when

  • when: A number of dates were postponed when a lighting grid collapsed at the weekend.

Infinitive complement

  • allow: Progress in the Parliament on Takeover Bids has been temporarily postponed to allow the Council of Ministers to reach an acceptable compromise.

Present participle complement

  • pend: In the event the meeting was postponed pending clarification of the Council's budget cuts.

Preposition: until

  • autumn: The charges were due to be introduced by April 2006 and these could now be postponed until the autumn of 2006.

Preposition: for

  • while: I was excited when I got the part, but then it was postponed for a while and anyway I was pregnant just then.
postpone usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

postpone quotes

Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing, Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms, Strong and content I travel the open road.

-Whitman,Walt(er)

postpone quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Link to this page:

Cite this page:

MLA Style

"postpone." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/postpone>

APA Style

postpone. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/postpone

Comments:

Please or Register to post a comment