suspension
Pluralsuspensions
- 1The set of springs and shock absorbers that connect a car's wheels to its body, giving a smoother ride.
The car's suspension soaked up every bump on the rough road.
The mechanic heard a squeak and lifted the car to check the suspension.
Note
- 2A pause or stop in something that lasts only for a while or until a condition is met.
Like pressing pause on a movie: it stops for now but will start again.
The suspension of the game gave players time to rest.
Bad weather caused a suspension of all flights for two hours.
Similarhalt, interruption, postponement, pause, stoppage
Oppositeresumption, continuation
- 3A time when someone is kept from work or a group while their actions are checked.
Like being told to wait outside while the teachers decide what happened.
The worker's suspension started while the company looked into the complaint.
He faced a suspension from the team during the investigation.
Oppositereinstatement
- 4A punishment that keeps a student away from school for a set time.
Like being sent home from a game and not allowed back for a while.
Her suspension kept her out of school for a week.
The boys got a suspension for skipping class.
Similarexclusion
Note
- 5A mix where tiny bits of a solid float in a liquid without melting into it, and can be strained out.
Like sand stirred into water: it floats around for a bit, then sinks to the bottom.
Muddy water is a suspension because the dirt floats but does not dissolve.
Shake the bottle to keep the medicine in suspension.
Note
- 6The act of hanging something up, or the state of being hung or stopped.
Like a swing hanging still from a tree branch.
The suspension of the heavy lamp from the ceiling needed strong hooks.
Her suspension in midair on the rope amazed the crowd.
Similarhanging
Note
- 7In music, holding a note from one chord into the next, so it clashes for a moment before settling.
Like a singer holding one note a little too long, making you wait for it to fit in.
The organist used a suspension to add tension before the final chord.
A suspension makes the music feel like it is waiting to relax.
Note
- 8The act of keeping a listener unsure and eager about what will happen next.
Like waiting to hear who won, while the host slowly opens the envelope.
The storyteller built suspension by pausing before the big reveal.
Her long silence created a feeling of suspension in the room.
Similarsuspense, uncertainty
- 9
- 10In Scottish law, a delay or stop to carrying out a court sentence.
Like a judge pressing pause on a punishment until things are checked again.
The court granted a suspension of the sentence while the appeal went ahead.
His lawyer asked for a suspension to delay the punishment.
Similarstay, postponement
Note
- 11In math, a new shape made by stretching a shape into a tube and pinching both ends to a point.
Like pinching the two ends of a paper tube until each becomes a single point.
The suspension of a circle gives a shape like a sphere.
Students drew the suspension of a simple loop in class.
Note
- 12In math, a new function built from another so that its inputs and outputs are stretched shapes of the first one's.
Like a rule that connects two bigger shapes, each grown from a smaller one.
The suspension of a function maps one stretched shape to another.
She wrote out the suspension of the map on the board.
Note
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of suspension apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
It comes from Late Latin suspensionem, from the verb suspendere meaning 'to hang up'. This was made from sub- ('under') and pendere ('to hang').