suspend

Verb

suspend (third-person singular simple present suspends, present participle suspending, simple past and past participle suspended)

1. To halt something temporarily.
   • The meeting was suspended for lunch.
   • Suspend your indignation against my brother.c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
2. To hold in an undetermined or undecided state.
   • suspending out judgement1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC
3. To discontinue or interrupt a function, task, position, or event.
   • to suspend a thread of execution in a computer program
4. To hang freely; underhang.
   • to suspend a ball by a thread
   • The underframe also carries four bonded-rubber mountings, focused upwards and inwards towards the centre of gravity to suspend the body shell.1958 April, “Diesel Railbus for British Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 275
5. To bring a solid substance, usually in powder form, into suspension in a liquid.
6. (obsolete) To make to depend.
   • God hath all along in the Scripture suspended the promise of eternal life on the condition of obedience and holiness of life.1671, John Tillotson, “Sermon IV. The Advantages of Religion to Particular Persons. Psalm XIX. 11.”, in The Works of the Most Reverend Dr. John Tillotson, Late Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: […]...
7. To debar, or cause to withdraw temporarily, from any privilege, from the execution of an office, from the enjoyment of income, etc.
   • to suspend a student from college; to suspend a member of a club
   • Whether good men should be suspended from the exercise of their ministry , and deprived of their livelyhood for ceremonies which are on all hands acknowledged indifferent.1633, Robert Sanderson, Reason and Judgement
8. To support in a liquid, as an insoluble powder, by stirring, to facilitate chemical action.
9. To remove the value of an unused coupon from an air ticket, typically so as to allow continuation of the next sectors' travel.