defer

¹ American  

[dih-fur] / dɪˈfɜr /

verb (used with object)

deferred, deferring

1. to put off (action, consideration, etc.) to a future time.

   The decision has been deferred by the board until next week.

2. to exempt temporarily from induction into military service.

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verb (used without object)

deferred, deferring

1. to put off action; delay.

defer ² American  

[dih-fur] / dɪˈfɜr /

verb (used without object)

deferred, deferring

1. to yield respectfully in judgment or opinion (usually followed byto ).

   We all defer to him in these matters.

   Synonyms:

   capitulate, acquiesce, submit, accede

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verb (used with object)

deferred, deferring

1. to submit for decision; refer.

   We defer questions of this kind to the president.

defer ¹ British  

/ dɪˈfɜː /

verb

1. (tr) to delay or cause to be delayed until a future time; postpone

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defer ² British  

/ dɪˈfɜː /

verb

1. to yield (to) or comply (with) the wishes or judgments of another

   I defer to your superior knowledge

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Synonym Usage

Defer, delay, postpone imply keeping something from occurring until a future time. To defer is to decide to do something later on: to defer making a payment. To delay is sometimes equivalent to defer, but usually it is to act in a dilatory manner and thus lay something aside: to delay one's departure. To postpone a thing is to put it off to (usually) some particular time in the future, with the intention of beginning or resuming it then: to postpone an election. procrastinate.

Other Word Forms

• deferrer
  noun
• deferrable
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of defer¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English deferen, differren “to delay”; see defer ² differ

Origin of defer²

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English deferren, from Latin dēferre “to carry from or down, report, accuse,” equivalent to dē- “from, away from, out of” + ferre “to carry”; see de-, bear ¹

Explanation

Defer means to put off or delay. You can try to defer the inevitable by pushing “snooze” and falling back asleep, but eventually you're going to have to get up. If you're excellent at pushing things to a later date and a master at procrastination, then you already know how to defer. But defer can also mean to comply with another person’s opinion or wishes. So when your boss finds out you deferred your work to shop online instead, you should probably defer when she asks you to come in and finish everything up over the weekend.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

defer deferred deferring

Gibson's barrister asked the judge at Bristol Crown Court, Recorder Jaron Crooknorth, to defer sentencing and said that it would give him time to earn money with which to repay the victims.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

If you go through with another 1031 exchange and buy a new rental, you can defer this capital gain by reinvesting all proceeds.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026

“I did not give my consent to any Trustee of my Trust to withhold, defer, or retain my Age-30 Distribution indefinitely,” Reiner said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Also known by its rather unsubtle acronym, CRUSH, this initiative is taking unprecedented steps to withhold and defer funds in response to suspected fraud.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026

“Maybe tomorrow. Maybe never. I think I’ll wait and see if I get into Yale first. If I do and they let me defer a year, she probably won’t be as upset.”

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

That and other changes sought by the owners, including a ban on deferred contract payments, would have barred contracts such as Shohei Ohtani’s and Juan Soto’s, which have huge deferred balances.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

And about $1 billion of any sale would be subtracted to cover the Dodgers’ future commitments on deferred contracts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

He said not all costs incurred to date related to the question of liability, and called for a decision on expenses to be deferred "until the end".

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

And your $75,000 paper loss does not automatically reduce your taxable gain, because you already have deferred gains from the previous 1031 exchange.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026

But when he later recounted his return to the White House, Jennings voiced no bitterness over the deferred promise of freedom.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

But a spoof is under no obligation to turn that one joke into a full narrative as it does by deferring to a younger cast, and only checking in with the franchise’s original players occasionally.

From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026

Boeing declined to comment on the Safety Matters report, deferring to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.

From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026

Cheniere Energy, another gas exporter, has said it is considering deferring maintenance at some of its units to produce more supplies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026

Motions to dismiss charges in the case paint some of the officers as rookies deferring to their superiors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026

“Good morning, Auntie,” she said, deferring to the respectful greeting for an elder.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Related Words

• adjourn
• delay
• extend
• hold up
• postpone
• prolong
• set aside
• shelve
• stall
• suspend
• waive