deferment
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of deferment
Explanation
A deferment delays something until a future time. If you want to wait a few years before paying off a loan, you need to ask for a deferment. Deferment is an official word for "I'll do that later!" College students who owe a lot of money can apply for deferments that give them more time to pay back their loans. Students accepted to colleges can sometimes get a deferment that allows them to do something else first (like serve in the military), and then attend the college later. This is usually used in formal contexts — good luck getting a deferment for your chores.
Vocabulary lists containing deferment
The Things They Carried
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Memorial Day: Words of Respect and Remembrance
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Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Rather than stopping payments, you can often legally pause them through official deferment or forbearance programs.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
Eligible fire survivors can still apply for this property tax deferment anytime before June 30, 2030.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
In refinancing, your husband would lose a raft of federal protections and flexible deferment and forbearance options.
From MarketWatch ● May 15, 2026
Most of the rest is in forbearance or deferment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
"They granted me a deferment until I graduate. But I must still serve six months in the Reich Labor Service."
From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Is it wrong—or savvy—that the Dodgers have collaborated with players like Ohtani to take massive deferments?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
With a Direct Subsidized Loan, the federal government pays the interest while the student is enrolled at least half-time, then during the six-month grace period after leaving school and during any approved deferments.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 31, 2025
He later sat out the Vietnam War due to deferments - four for academic reasons and one due to bone spurs.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2024
After graduating high school from the New York Military Academy in 1964, he received four education deferments to attend college.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2024
One year, they say, during the Vietnam War, Morrie gave all his male students A’s to help them keep their student deferments.
From "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
