Adjourn for Dummies

Adjourn is a verb that we use when we want to talk about taking a break or putting a pause to something, like a meeting, a court case, or even a classroom discussion. It's like when we hit the pause button on a video game or a movie so that we can come back to it later. So, when we adjourn something, we're essentially saying, "Okay, let's stop this for now and continue it later."

For example, imagine you're playing a board game with your friends, and suddenly it's time for dinner. You can't finish the game right now, so you say, "Hey guys, let's adjourn the game for now and we can continue playing after we eat." See, it's like hitting pause on the game and planning to come back to it later.

Now, when it comes to a meeting, let's say there's an important discussion going on, but suddenly someone realizes that they need more information or time to think about things. The chairperson of the meeting might suggest, "Why don't we adjourn this meeting until next week to give everyone a chance to gather more facts and come back with fresh ideas?" So, in this case, adjourning the meeting means putting it on hold so that everyone can have more time to prepare and think about the topic at hand.

Another example could be a court case. Let's say an attorney is presenting their argument, but they encounter a really tricky question from the judge that they didn't anticipate. In this situation, the attorney may request to adjourn the trial, meaning they want to pause the court proceedings to get more time to think of a strong response. It's like saying, "Hold on, Your Honor. I need a moment to gather my thoughts. Can we adjourn for a little while?"

So, to sum it up, adjourn simply means taking a break or putting a temporary stop to something. Whether it's a game, a meeting, or a court case, adjourning means hitting the pause button and planning to come back to it later when we have more time, information, or thoughts on the matter.