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

Former Dutch PM Rutte has been encouraging members of the alliance not to defer spending increases until the last minute.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

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

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

He was terribly proud, sometimes absurdly proud, and he refused to defer to any man.

From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston

A poorly funded HOA can leave homeowners facing higher dues, special assessments, deferred maintenance and, in the most extreme cases, difficulty obtaining financing when they want to sell.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

An autopsy was performed Monday, but the cause and manner of death have been deferred, “which means additional testing and/or studies were requested in order to make a determination.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

The Tenant Union Federation, a national tenant group, has organized several rent strikes in financially distressed buildings where landlords had deferred maintenance or raised rents to pay their mortgage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

"Rather, his continued status is merely a temporary arrangement, with the Credentials Committee's decision deferred annually."

From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026

A serjeant, Tyrion knew, from the way the other two deferred to him.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Yes, some of the gains are due to inflation, but the owner also benefits from deferring the tax until the asset is sold.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

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

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

The fact that he’s deferring to me makes me feel better about it.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Related Words

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