Short answer: the table a motion meaning in the UK and US is reversed. In British English, and in most Commonwealth parliaments, to table a motion is to put it forward so it can be discussed. In American English, to table a motion is to set it aside and stop discussing it, often for good. Both senses come from the same image of a paper and a table, and the Oxford English Dictionary, as quoted by the Grammarphobia Blog, records the British sense from 1653 and the American one from 1849. If your meeting mixes British and American speakers, say "propose" or "postpone" instead.
Table a motion at a glance
| Where | "Let's table this motion" means | Register | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | Put it on the agenda and discuss it | Formal, parliamentary and business | "The opposition tabled a motion of no confidence." |
| Commonwealth parliaments (for example Canada and Australia) | Same as the UK in parliamentary use | Formal | "The minister tabled the report in the House." |
| US | Set it aside; stop discussing it, often permanently | Formal in meetings, common in business speech | "The board tabled the proposal until next quarter." |
| US meetings run under Robert's Rules | "Lay on the table": suspend it temporarily, with a way to bring it back | Technical | "I move to lay the question on the table." |
Wikipedia's article on tabling in parliamentary procedure summarizes the split in two sentences: in the United Kingdom and most of the world, a motion "on the table" is under consideration, while in the United States a motion on the table is "suspended from consideration with a formal possibility to return to it, but more typically to discard it." The article supports those definitions with the UK Parliament's own glossary and with several major dictionaries.
The British sense: laying a paper on the table of the House
The British meaning is literal in origin. In Parliament, documents are laid on the table of the chamber, and a paper laid there becomes something the members can take up. To "table" a motion, a question or a report is to submit it formally for consideration.
The dating comes from the Oxford English Dictionary. According to the Grammarphobia Blog's post "Table talk", which we read on September 27, 2026, the OED defines this sense as "to lay on the table of a legislative assembly or other deliberative meeting," meaning "to present or submit formally for discussion or consideration," and cites an example from 1653 in Thomas Urquhart's Logopandecteision: "Upon the presenting of a petition thereanent, whereof at least a hundred, at several times were tabled."
So the British sense is the older one by about two centuries. In modern British English it has spread well beyond Parliament. A manager in London who says "I'll table that for Monday's meeting" means it will be on Monday's agenda.
The American sense: laying a paper aside
The American sense runs the other way. Here the picture is not a table everyone gathers around, but a paper you are holding that you put down on a table and stop reading.
The same Grammarphobia post reports that the OED labels this sense as chiefly American, defines it as "to postpone consideration of, esp. indefinitely; to shelve," and gives the earliest example from 1849, printed in the Whig Almanac 1850: "Senator Westcott tried to table the bill, but failed: it became law."
Why American usage went this way is not settled. Grammarphobia notes that the OED "doesn't discuss why the American usage evolved," and offers its own suggestion that it may have grown from the idea of tabling something for future rather than present consideration. That is a reasonable guess, labeled as a guess. We have not found a reference that settles it, so on this page the honest answer is: the American shift is dated, but its cause is unknown.
For more on how references build a dating like this, and why a first citation is not the same as a first use, see our explainer on how a phrase origin is traced.
What "table" means under Robert's Rules of Order
Many American clubs, boards, unions and nonprofits run their meetings under Robert's Rules of Order. In that system the formal motion is "lay on the table," and it has a narrower purpose than everyday American "table."
According to the official Robert's Rules FAQ, which we read on September 27, 2026, the purpose of the motion to Lay on the Table "is to enable an assembly, by majority vote and without debate, to lay a pending question aside temporarily when something else of immediate urgency has arisen." It is meant as a pause, not a burial.
The same FAQ is blunt about the common misuse. Moving to table a motion simply to kill it is, in its words, "a common violation of fair procedure," because it would let a majority suppress debate, "and only a two-thirds vote can do that." The FAQ points to proper alternatives: an Objection to Consideration before debate starts, or a motion to Postpone Indefinitely once it has.
Wikipedia's summary of the rulebook adds that Robert's Rules itself advises that "it is preferable to avoid moving 'to table' a motion," and that a matter laid on the table can be taken from the table later in the same session or the next one within a quarterly time interval.
This gives American English two layers. In casual business speech, "let's table this" usually means "let's drop it for now, maybe forever." In a meeting that follows Robert's Rules strictly, it should mean a short, temporary pause. Neither is the British sense.
The meeting where "table it" nearly caused a row
The best-known example of the confusion comes from the Second World War. In The Second World War, Volume III: The Grand Alliance (Houghton Mifflin, 1950), quoted in Wikipedia's article on tabling, Winston Churchill described British and American staff officers meeting early in the alliance. The British side had a paper they wanted to raise as a matter of urgency and said they wished to "table it." Churchill wrote: "To the American Staff 'tabling' a paper meant putting it away in a drawer and forgetting it. A long and even acrimonious argument ensued before both parties realized that they were agreed on the merits and wanted the same thing."
Both sides were using the word correctly. That is what makes it dangerous: nothing sounds wrong, so nobody stops to check.
Is "table" a contronym?
Yes, in the loose sense. A contronym (also called a Janus word or auto-antonym) is a word that can mean its own opposite, like "sanction" (approve or penalize) or "dust" (add or remove dust). "Table" is unusual because the two opposite senses are split mainly by region rather than by context. Inside one variety of English, it is usually clear which is meant. Across varieties, it is not.
"Moot" behaves the same way: in Britain a moot point is still open to debate, and in the US it usually means a point that no longer matters. If you collect these, our guide to commonly misused idioms and why the errors are predictable shows how regional splits sit alongside ordinary mishearings.
Where "table a motion" is and is not appropriate
"Table" in this sense is formal procedural language. It belongs in meetings, minutes, parliamentary reporting and business email. It is not slang and it is not dated in either variety.
- UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and other Commonwealth readers: "table" will usually be read as "propose" or "present," especially in parliamentary contexts.
- US readers: "table" will usually be read as "postpone" or "shelve."
- International teams, bilateral negotiations, global companies: avoid it. The same sentence can open a discussion for one reader and close it for another.
- Minutes and formal records: state the effect as well as the word. "The motion was tabled (deferred to the next meeting)" or "The report was tabled (presented for discussion)."
- Learners of English: learn both senses, and do not use the verb until you know which variety your audience expects.
Clearer replacements that cannot be misread:
| If you mean | Say instead |
|---|---|
| Put it forward for discussion (British "table") | Propose, present, submit, put on the agenda, raise |
| Set it aside (American "table") | Postpone, defer, set aside, shelve, park |
Frequently asked questions
What does "table a motion" mean in the UK?
In British English, to table a motion is to put it forward formally so it can be discussed. The sense comes from laying papers on the table of Parliament, and the OED, as quoted by Grammarphobia, dates it to 1653.
What does "table a motion" mean in the US?
In American English, it means to set the motion aside and stop discussing it, often indefinitely. Grammarphobia reports that the OED's earliest example is from 1849. Under Robert's Rules of Order, "lay on the table" is meant only as a temporary pause.
Which meaning is older?
The British "put forward" sense. Grammarphobia's summary of the OED gives 1653 for it and 1849 for the American "postpone" sense.
Why do the meanings differ?
The references do not settle it. Grammarphobia notes that the OED does not explain why the American usage developed and suggests it may come from tabling something for later rather than present consideration. Treat that as a suggestion, not a documented origin.
What should I say in a meeting with British and American colleagues?
Skip "table." Say "let's put this on the agenda" or "let's discuss this now" if you want to raise it, and "let's postpone this" or "let's set this aside" if you want to defer it.
