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
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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:
Private lenders can charge fees for anything from the loan’s application and origination to late payments or deferment.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
Rather than stopping payments, you can often legally pause them through official deferment or forbearance programs.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
He spent 15 years in and out of forbearance, deferment and repayment on his federal loans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2025
But because borrowers with federal loans can choose from forbearance, deferment or income-driven repayment, it’s that much more challenging to prove undue hardship.
From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2025
As long as he was in school, he’d have a student deferment from the draft.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
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
He avoided the Vietnam War draft with four student deferments and one medical deferment for bone spurs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 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
In South Korea, all able-bodied men are required to serve 18 months of military service, although rare exceptions are made - and deferments are sometimes granted.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2025
When the professors learned that students who did not maintain a certain grade point average could lose their deferments and be drafted, they decided not to give any grades.
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.
