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

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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

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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

Angelenos for Historic Preservation, an independent advocacy group, petitioned the California Department of Justice and the state’s deputy attorney general to defer Tuesday’s vote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2026

Lenders extended due dates for the debt to 2030 and 2031, made an additional loan of roughly $100 million and agreed that symplr could defer some interest payments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

"Thus, hydrodissection merits to be a minimally invasive option for mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome and can defer and even alleviate the need for surgery."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026

The move followed warnings that it could end up costing the government money if wealthy people leave the country or defer selling off assets, the Times newspaper reported.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

Fred Gray knew well that all their lives black people had been taught to defer to whites.

From "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" by Phillip Hoose

Simpson also failed to appear for sentence last week due to having a migraine, and sentence had been further deferred.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever tendered his resignation to King Philippe on Monday over deadlocked budget talks, but the monarch deferred his decision until after a new meeting Friday.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

In the past, the court has often deferred to prison officials on their handling and treatment of inmates.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

A deferred payment obligation doesn’t automatically shield the proceeds from marital claims, and the note itself may be treated as an asset in a divorce.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

Neither the Revolution nor the infant republic could have succeeded without the support of the southern states, so Adams had deferred to the Virginians to assume leadership of the antislavery movement.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

You don’t want to look back later and kick yourself for deferring your taxes but incurring poor returns.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

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

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

Once she starts deferring to me, I’ll know that I’ve slipped into the virtual driver’s seat, regardless of who’s actually driving.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

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Related Words

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

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