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 its end customers treat the purchases as capital assets, meaning they defer the upfront costs and recognize them only gradually as depreciation on their income statements.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

It would defer most matters of the nuclear program to 60 more days of talks, with oil and other sanctions relief along the way in exchange for diplomatic progress.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

Another option is to defer gains with exchange funds, private investment partnerships that allow investors to diversify concentrated stock positions without triggering immediate capital-gains taxes.

From Barron's ● Jun. 13, 2026

He says the agency allowed him to defer some payments until after he started working, but that option was not given to any of the other students who spoke to the BBC.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

“Maybe tomorrow. Maybe never. I think I’ll wait and see if I get into Yale first. If I do and they let me defer a year, she probably won’t be as upset.”

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

Sentence was deferred pending background reports on the two men, who are first offenders, until next month.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

He also receives deferred compensation he saved while working.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

Over the past decade, Oregon lawmakers doubled funding for the state’s affordable housing tax credit and started offering low-interest and deferred loans for construction.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

Boeing deferred questions about the timeframe to the Air Force but said it is an "honor to be entrusted" with the contract.

From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026

Vain favour! coming, like most other favours long deferred and often wished for, too late!

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

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

She argues that too often we use expert prediction as an excuse not to think for ourselves, deferring to impressive-looking charts and graphs as a form of anxiety relief.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026

Motions to dismiss charges in the case paint some of the officers as rookies deferring to their superiors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 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