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

But sometimes the law Congress enacts explicitly directs the judiciary to defer to the views of federal agencies who have studied a difficult problem and made evidence-based recommendations.

From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026

If so, I’ll defer to what my father told me was mine: asking annoying questions.

From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026

"Our goal is to give each organization the facts and defer to them on if and when to make the incident public," it said.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

You would happily drive twice the distance, eat three times the terrible food, to have another chance to defer this last time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

Your arguments will tend to prosper if they are founded on the common assumptions of your audience—or, in special cases, if the audience is minded to defer to your authority.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

He deferred federal taxes on the fuel and authorised supplies designated for farm use to be used in interstate trucking.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

The official causes of death for both were deferred, pending further investigation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

Switzerland's system of direct democracy means major political decisions are often deferred to the voters through referenda.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

While other schools use committees to review course proposals, Harvard has long deferred to the judgment of individual faculty and departments, said Amanda Claybaugh, dean of undergraduate education.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

Dick Ewell had frozen; he had deferred to Early.

From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara

They were also planning to cut expenses while deferring capital projects.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

The Medical Examiner hasn’t yet released a cause or manner of death for Hoyos-Munoz, writing that it was deferring its decision for now.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 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

“Good morning, Auntie,” she said, deferring to the respectful greeting for an elder.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Related Words

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