MEANING
Delay an event or action until a later time.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- postpone a decision
- postpone a meeting
On the page
The board postponed its decision until the inspection was complete.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- postpone
- Past tense
- postponed
- Past participle
- postponed
- Present participle
- postponing
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- postpone
- Present continuous
- am/is/are postponing
- Present perfect
- have/has postponed
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been postponing
- Past
- postponed
- Past continuous
- was/were postponing
- Past perfect
- had postponed
- Past perfect continuous
- had been postponing
- Future
- will postpone
- Future continuous
- will be postponing
- Future perfect
- will have postponed
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been postponing
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: postpone; postpones; postponed; postponed; postponing Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: analysis, explanation, evaluation. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: postpones.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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