defer

verb (1)

de·fer | \ di-ˈfər

deferred; deferring

Definition of defer

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : put off, delay

2 : to postpone induction of (a person) into military service

defer

verb (2)

deferred; deferring

Definition of defer (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to delegate to another he could defer his job to no one— J. A. Michener

intransitive verb

: to submit to another's wishes, opinion, or governance usually through deference or respect deferred to her father's wishes

Other Words from defer Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about defer

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Choose the Right Synonym for defer

Verb (1)

defer, postpone, suspend, stay mean to delay an action or proceeding. defer implies a deliberate putting off to a later time. deferred buying a car until spring postpone implies an intentional deferring usually to a definite time. the game is postponed until Saturday suspend implies temporary stoppage with an added suggestion of waiting until some condition is satisfied. business will be suspended while repairs are underway stay often suggests the stopping or checking by an intervening agency or authority. the governor stayed the execution

Verb (2)

yield, submit, capitulate, succumb, relent, defer mean to give way to someone or something that one can no longer resist. yield may apply to any sort or degree of giving way before force, argument, persuasion, or entreaty. yields too easily in any argument submit suggests full surrendering after resistance or conflict to the will or control of another. a repentant sinner vowing to submit to the will of God capitulate stresses the fact of ending all resistance and may imply either a coming to terms (as with an adversary) or hopelessness in the face of an irresistible opposing force. officials capitulated to the protesters' demands succumb implies weakness and helplessness to the one that gives way or an overwhelming power to the opposing force. a stage actor succumbing to the lure of Hollywood relent implies a yielding through pity or mercy by one who holds the upper hand. finally relented and let the children stay up late defer implies a voluntary yielding or submitting out of respect or reverence for or deference and affection toward another. I defer to your expertise in these matters

Examples of defer in a Sentence

Verb (1)

Backers say the arrangement will make patients more cost-conscious and judicious in their use of medical service, thus restraining health-cost increases; critics say it will cause patients to defer needed treatment and will be attractive only to younger, healthier workers. — Wall Street Journal, 9 Jan. 2006 A far stronger signal came when the draft was revived, shortly before the United States entered World War II. Although married men with families were eligible for induction, in many cases up to the age of forty, high school students were automatically deferred. — Thomas Hine, American Heritage, September 1999 The decision was deferred for a time. John didn't want to do anything drastic until after October … — Joe Klein, Payback, 1984

Verb (2)

But in 1775, when William chose loyalty to empire over deference to his father, Franklin abruptly, angrily, and permanently broke with his son. Despite having defied his own father (in leaving Boston), Franklin pulled patriarchal rank to demand that his son defer to his politics: "there are natural duties which precede political ones, and cannot be extinguished by them." — Alan Taylor, New Republic, 13 Jan. 2003 Israelis can be harsh with each other, but they defer to the security guards who check their backpacks at the mall entrances. They put their faith in the Army. — David Brooks, Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2001

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

On Thursday, a local spokeswoman for ICE deferred to the report and the Aurora management’s rebuttals. — Justin Wingerter, The Denver Post, "ICE inspector general finds violations at Aurora facility," 6 June 2019 Lately, the answer is no, as the Roberts Court has undermined habitually deferred to the Trump administration while structurally tilting American democracy toward conservatives. — Matt Ford, The New Republic, "A Better Way to Fix the Supreme Court," 4 June 2019 By deferring to Congress on whether impeachment proceedings should begin now, Buttigieg is still stopping just short of the positions staked out by many of his 2020 primary rivals. — Josh Lederman, NBC News, "Buttigieg says he would vote to impeach Trump, but won't second-guess Pelosi," 3 June 2019 Wilson is not wearing a uniform, but everyone here at the Capital Factory, an 81,000-square-foot startup incubator space in downtown Austin, defers to the Air Force Vice Chief of Staff, uniform or no. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "Disrupting the Pentagon: Can the Air Force Learn To Love Startup Culture?," 12 Apr. 2019 The rest of us—the small minority of us allowed to vote at all, that is—were supposed to go on deferring indefinitely to the big men in our little towns and hamlets, relying on them to show us the way and to decide who our leaders should be. — Kevin Baker, Harper's magazine, "The Crisis of Our Constitution," 10 Jan. 2019 The decades-old practice known as tax-loss harvesting, or strategically taking investment losses to offset income, is a perfectly legal maneuver that doesn’t so much dodge taxes as defer them. — Asjylyn Loder, WSJ, "Beware the Bold Claims of Tax-Loss Harvesting," 13 Apr. 2019 In the past Staley said Harris might have deferred in those situations with better players around her. — Steve Reed, The Seattle Times, "South Carolina beats Florida State 72-64 to reach Sweet 16," 24 Mar. 2019 For example, a provider might defer part of the scholarship to a subsequent year or to graduate school, if this will allow the student to make fuller use of the money, Ms. Bright says. — Cheryl Winokur Munk, WSJ, "Why Getting Too Many College Scholarships Can Actually be a Problem," 10 Feb. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'defer.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for defer

Verb (1)

Middle English differren, deferren, borrowed from Anglo-French differer, borrowed (with conjugational change) from Latin differre "to carry away in varying directions, spread abroad, postpone, delay, be unlike or distinct" — more at differ

Note: The verb defer is not distinct etymologically from differ—see note at etymology of that entry. The spelling of the initial unstressed syllable as -e- was perhaps by association with delay entry 2.

Verb (2)

Middle English differen, deferen "to submit (a matter) for decision, submit to another's judgment," borrowed from Middle French deferer, deferrer "to bring (a defendant) before a court, submit to another's will," borrowed (with conjugation change) from Medieval Latin dēferre "to convey, show respect, submit to a decision" (Late Latin, "to pay respect to"), going back to Latin, "to bring down, convey, transfer, submit," from dē- de- + ferre "to carry, convey" — more at bear entry 2