defer

¹

[dih-fur]

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.

verb (used without object)

deferred, deferring 

1. to put off action; delay.

defer

²

[dih-fur]

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

verb (used with object)

deferred, deferring 

1. to submit for decision; refer.

   We defer questions of this kind to the president.

defer

¹

/ dɪˈfɜː /

verb

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

defer

²

/ dɪˈfɜː /

verb

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

   I defer to your superior knowledge

Other Word Forms

• deferrer noun
• deferrable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of defer¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English deferen, differren “to delay”; 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”; de-, bear ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of defer¹

C14: from Old French differer to be different, postpone; see _differ

Origin of defer²

C15: from Latin dēferre, literally: to bear down, from _de- + ferre to bear

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

They also say the court should defer to the president because tariffs involve foreign affairs and national security.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

For this, I defer to the final scene of “Cabaret.”

Read more on Salon

Due to health reasons he was handed a deferred custody warrant and is not currently in jail.

Read more on BBC

Under the circumstances, the GOP’s insistence that the healthcare subsidies be taken out of the current budget debate and deferred to the end of the year looks like a cynical ploy.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Facing the possibility of coming off the bench ahead of a contract year, Hachimura said he would defer to coaches to decide what was best.

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Related Words

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