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- DictionaryDe·fer/dəˈfər/
verb
- 1. put off (an action or event) to a later time; postpone: "they deferred the decision until February"
To defer is to decide to do something at a more convenient time in the future; it often suggests avoidance: to defer making a payment. delay is sometimes equivalent to defer, but it usu. suggests a hindrance or dilatory tactic: Completion of the work was deferred by bad weather.
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.
2 days ago · SYNONYMS 1. 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.
defer (doing) something to delay something until a later time synonym put off. The department deferred the decision for six months. She had applied for deferred admission to college.
See defer in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Check pronunciation: defer. Definition of defer verb in Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
verb [ T ] uk / dɪˈfɜː r/ us present participle deferring | past tense and past participle deferred. Add to word list. to arrange for something to happen at a later time: The payments can be deferred for three months. (Definition of defer from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press) Translations of defer.
To give in to the wish or judgment of another, as in showing respect; yield with courtesy ( to) To commit or entrust to another. The principal deferred the decision to the school board. To postpone the induction of (one eligible for the military draft).
