defer
Use Defer in a sentence
verb (used with object)
1.
to put off (action, consideration, etc.) to a future time: The decision has been deferred by the board until next week.
2.
to exempt temporarily from induction into military service.
verb (used without object)
3.
to put off action; delay.
Related forms
de·fer·rer, noun
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. To postpone a thing is to put it off to (usually) some particular time in the future, with the intention of beginning or resuming it then: to postpone an election. 3. procrastinate.
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. To postpone a thing is to put it off to (usually) some particular time in the future, with the intention of beginning or resuming it then: to postpone an election. 3. procrastinate.
00:10
Defer
is a GRE word you need to know.
So is demurrage. Does it mean:
| a charge for such undue detention. |
| demeanor; conduct; behavior. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used without object)
1.
to yield respectfully in judgment or opinion (usually followed by to ): We all defer to him in these matters.
verb (used with object)
2.
to submit for decision; refer: We defer questions of this kind to the president.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To defer
Collins
World English Dictionary
defer1 (dɪˈfɜː) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb , -fers, -ferring, -ferred | |
| (tr) to delay or cause to be delayed until a future time; postpone | |
| [C14: from Old French differer to be different, postpone; see | |
| de'ferrable1 | |
| —adj | |
| de'ferable1 | |
| —adj | |
| de'ferrer1 | |
| —n | |
| defer2 (dɪˈfɜː) | |
| —vb (foll by to) , -fers, -ferring, -ferred | |
| to yield (to) or comply (with) the wishes or judgments of another: I defer to your superior knowledge | |
| [C15: from Latin dēferre, literally: to bear down, from | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
defer
"delay," late 14c., from O.Fr. differer, from L. differre "set apart, put off, delay," also "be different, differ," from dis- "apart" + ferre "carry" (see infer). Etymologically identical with differ; the spelling and pronunciation differentiated from 15c., partly by association
of this word with delay.
defer
"yield," late 15c., from M.Fr. deferer, from L. deferre "carry away, transfer, grant;" modern sense is from meaning "refer (a matter) to someone," from de- "down, away" + ferre "carry" (see infer).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
People were still willing to defer to authority figures.
The law allows companies to defer paying taxes on profits earned overseas until the earnings are sent back to this country.
Jesse has been accepted to two local colleges and hopes to play baseball, but will defer admission.
Its statutes say nothing about having to defer to regional courts.
Nearby Words
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