postpone
verb
What postpone means
To move an event or a task to a later time than planned.
The match was postponed because of heavy rain.
Can we postpone the meeting until Friday?
Test yourself
Five questions about postpone
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Question 1 of 5Meaning
What does postpone mean?
If you postpone something, it still happens, just later than the first plan, for example a meeting that moves from Monday to Friday.
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Question 2 of 5Situation
The client meeting was planned for Monday, but because the client is ill it will now happen next Friday. The meeting has been…
The meeting still happens, only later than planned, so it has been postponed. Cancelled means it will not happen at all, and brought forward means it moved to an earlier time.
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Question 3 of 5Gap
The director is ill, so the product launch has been ___ until next month.
The launch will still happen, but a month later because the director is ill, and moving an event to a later time is postponing it.
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Question 4 of 5Similar word
Which phrase is closest in meaning to postpone?
To put something off is to decide to do it later, just like postpone. Put on, put up and put out have completely different meanings.
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Question 5 of 5Correct use
Which sentence uses postpone correctly?
Postpone takes a noun or an -ing form, so postpone the trip, not to travel. The people who decide are the subject, and a postponed trip still happens later, unlike a cancelled one.
Keys 1 to 4 pick an answer, Enter goes on.
Postpone in a sentence
5 more examples of postpone in everyday situations.
- At work
We had to postpone the product launch because the testing wasn’t finished.
- In the news
The election has been postponed for two weeks after the floods.
- A message
Sorry, can we postpone dinner? I’m stuck at the office.
- Sports
The final was postponed until Sunday because the pitch was frozen.
- Making excuses
I keep postponing my dentist appointment, but I really need to go.
How to use postpone
Postpone is a little more formal than put off or push back, which mean the same. If you postpone something, you still plan to do it. If you cancel it, it will not happen at all.
Use until or to for the new time: “postponed until next week”, “postponed to May”.
Forms
- postponeshe, she, it
- postponedpast and past participle
- postponing-ing form
- postponementnoun
Patterns
- postpone something until / to + time
- postpone something for + period
- postpone doing something
- be postponed because of something
Common mistakes with postpone
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NotWe postponed to meet next week.
SayWe postponed the meeting until next week.
After postpone, use a noun or an -ing form, not to + verb.
Postpone or cancel or put off?
- postpone or cancel
- If you cancel an event, it will not happen at all; if you postpone it, it will still happen, but at a later time.
- postpone or put off
- Put off means the same as postpone but is more informal and common in speech; postpone sounds more official and is typical in emails and announcements.
Postpone is a B2 word. Is that your level? Take the level test or count the words you know.
Postpone word family and collocations
The words that go with postpone, so you can use it in a whole phrase.
Common collocations
- postpone a meeting
- postpone a trip
- postpone a decision
- postponed until further notice
- postponed indefinitely
Word family
- postpone (verb)
- postponement (noun)
Similar words
- put off
- push back
- delay
Opposites
- bring forward
Questions about postpone
Postpone or delay?
You postpone something by deciding to move it to a later date. Delay can mean the same, but it is also used when something happens later than planned without anyone choosing it, like a delayed train.
What preposition goes with postpone?
Use until or to for the new time, as in postpone the meeting until Friday, and for with a length of time, as in postpone it for a week.
Is it postpone doing or postpone to do?
Use the -ing form: we postponed buying a car. Postpone to do is not correct.
The word before
Do you still remember fracture?
One question about the word from 18 October. Remembering a word a day later helps it stay.
One question
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What does fracture mean?
A fracture is when a bone breaks or cracks, for example after a bad fall. It is the medical word for a broken bone.
Keys 1 to 4 pick an answer.
More work words
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onboarding
The process of helping a new employee or customer get started, with introductions, training and information. -
B2
brainstorm
To think of many ideas quickly, often in a group, before you decide which ones are good. -
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A point in a process where work slows down because too much has to pass through one narrow place. -
B2
thorough
Done carefully and completely, with attention to every detail. -
B2
feedback
Comments about someone’s work or actions that tell them what was good and what could be better. -
C1
reimburse
To pay someone back money that they spent for you.