postpone

B2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /poʊstˈpoʊn/ UK /pəʊstˈpəʊn/ See IPA manual

Freq #9271

Meanings

1

verb
To move an event or activity to a later time or date.

They had to postpone the wedding because of the storm.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to move an event or... defer delay put off hold off suspend

Opposites

advanceprepone

Word family

Forms postponedpostponementpostponespostponing

Derived forms postponablerepostpone

Related forms postponementpostponencepostponer

Simplified etymology

Postpone entered English in the late 15th century and comes from the same Latin root as positive: ponere, meaning “to place.” It literally means “place after.”

Etymology

From Latin postpōnō (“to put after; to postpone”) from post (“after”) + pōnō (“to put; to place”), compare forestall.

*tḱey- Proto-Indo-European postpōnō Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# postpone

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /poʊstˈpoʊn/
**IPA (UK):** /pəʊstˈpəʊn/
**Frequency rank:** 9271

## Meanings
1. To move an event or activity to a later time or date.

## Examples
- They had to postpone the wedding because of the storm.

## Antonyms
- advance
- prepone

## Derived Forms
- postponable
- repostpone

## Related Forms
- postponement
- postponence
- postponer

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *tḱey-
- Root: postpōnō
- Affix: post- - after

## Etymology
From Latin postpōnō (“to put after; to postpone”) from post (“after”) + pōnō (“to put; to place”), compare forestall.

## AI Etymology
Postpone comes from Latin postpōnō (“to put after; to postpone”) from post (“after”) + pōnō (“to put; to place”), compare forestall. The historical chain includes *tḱey- (Proto-Indo-European), postpōnō (Latin). In present-day English it covers to move an event or activity to a later time or date. The wider family includes derived forms such as postponable, repostpone and related forms such as postponement, postponence, postponer.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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