deferred
Americanadjective
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postponed or delayed.
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suspended or withheld for or until a certain time or event.
a deferred payment; deferred taxes.
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classified as temporarily exempt from induction into military service.
adjective
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withheld over a certain period; postponed
a deferred payment
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(of shares) ranking behind other types of shares for dividend
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of deferred
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.
An autopsy was performed Monday, but the cause and manner of death have been deferred, “which means additional testing and/or studies were requested in order to make a determination.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
The Tenant Union Federation, a national tenant group, has organized several rent strikes in financially distressed buildings where landlords had deferred maintenance or raised rents to pay their mortgage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
Asked about the Post's reporting, the Kennedy Center declined to comment and referred AFP to a recent statement from spokesperson Roma Daravi blaming "decades of neglect and deferred maintenance by the previous leadership."
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
And some state prisons have astronomical deferred maintenance bills.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
You dipped into the muddy waters of the Harlem River and shouted °taste and see * that we Black folk be good at fanning hope and stoking the fires of dreams deferred.
From "Bronx Masquerade" by Nikki Grimes
Definitions 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.
