Suspended chord - Definition

A suspended chord is an added tone chord in which the third is replaced or accompanied by either a fourth or a major second, although the fourth is far more common.

This term suspended is borrowed from the contrapuntal technique of suspension, where a note from a previous chord is carried over to the next chord, and then resolved down to the third or tonic, suspending a note from the previous chord. However, in a suspended chord the added tone does not necessarily resolve.

Suspended chords are most commonly found in folk music and popular music.