defer, postpone, suspend, stay mean to delay an action or proceeding. defer implies a deliberate putting off to a later time.

(foll by: to) to yield (to) or comply (with) the wishes or judgments of another: I defer to your superior knowledge.

defer action/a decision The committee decided to defer a decision on the takeover bid until a later date.

DEFER definition: to put off (action, consideration, etc.) to a future time. See examples of defer used in a sentence.

Defer definition: To put off; postpone.

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 …

Mar 7, 2026 · Verb defer (third-person singular simple present defers, present participle deferring, simple past and past participle deferred) (transitive) To delay or postpone.

DEFER meaning: 1 : to choose to do (something) at a later time; 2 : to allow (someone else) to decide or choose something

Aug 30, 2025 · The word "defer" is a verb, and it broadly means to postpone or delay something to a later time or date. But its usage varies, especially in formal versus informal settings.

Mar 5, 2024 · Defer, as a verb, is commonly understood to mean to delay or postpone an action or decision. Using “defer” in a sentence allows you to express the act of putting something off to a later …