Dictionary


sus•pend



Pronunciation: (su-spend'), [key]
—v.t.
1. to hang by attachment to something above: to suspend a chandelier from the ceiling.
2. to attach so as to allow free movement: to suspend a door on a hinge.
3. to keep from falling, sinking, forming a deposit, etc., as if by hanging: to suspend solid particles in a liquid.
4. to hold or keep undetermined; refrain from forming or concluding definitely: to suspend one's judgment.
5. to defer or postpone: to suspend sentence on a convicted person.
6. to cause to cease or bring to a stop or stay, usually for a time: to suspend payment.
7. to cause to cease for a time from operation or effect, as a law, rule, privilege, service, or the like: to suspend ferry service.
8. to debar, usually for a limited time, from the exercise of an office or function or the enjoyment of a privilege: The student was suspended from school.
9. to keep in a mood or feeling of expectation or incompleteness; keep waiting in suspense: Finish the story; don't suspend us in midair.
10. Music.to prolong (a note or tone) into the next chord.

—v.i.
1. to come to a stop, usually temporarily; cease from operation for a time.
2. to stop payment; be unable to meet financial obligations.
3. to hang or be suspended, as from another object: The chandelier suspends from the ceiling.
4. to be suspended, as in a liquid, gas, etc.

Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.

suspectsuspended animation
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