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

The 2026 limit on what you can defer from your paycheck is $24,500, or $32,500 if you’re 50 or older.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

And Messrs. Iyer and Prieto, each roughly 30 years Mr. Threadgill’s junior, don’t defer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

He also urges the justices to defer heavily to military leaders’ judgments about readiness and deployability.

From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026

Handler appeared to defer to the soloists, while the trio looked to encourage her.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

The Court began insisting that federal judges defer more to state court rulings, which tended to be more indulgent of errors and defects in capital proceedings.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

You have roughly $700,000 — about 46% of your financial assets — in CDs, savings, Series I bonds, cash and your deferred annuity.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

She had already deferred her university offer for a year because of uncertainty surrounding the war, which has persisted despite an April ceasefire that halted its most intense phase.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

However, the closure has been deferred until the remaining residents have been relocated and arrangements for independent living have been completed.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

Gen. Rob Bonta’s office, which represented the state in court, deferred questions to the agencies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

But my dream had to be deferred, for I learned very quickly of the extensive plans that the ANC had for me, and none of them involved a relaxing journey to the Transkei.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Other cost-cutting measures were also announced, such as deferring wage increases until 2035 and having senior executives forgo base salary increases in 2027 and 2028.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

The payments are the result of the Mets in 2000 deferring the last $5.9 million of his four-year contract after releasing him on the heels of a .160 batting average.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 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

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

The others were deferring to him, allowing him the clean shot, giving him back the ball more often than they gave it back to each other.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

Related Words

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