Definition

1. Verb (transitive):
   • To postpone or delay something to a later time: To decide that something will happen at a future date rather than immediately.
   • To yield or submit to another's opinion, judgment, or wishes out of respect: To allow someone else to decide or to accept their authority in a matter.

Examples of Usage

• Verb (transitive - to postpone):

  • The committee decided to defer the decision until more data was available.
  • You can defer your student loan payments for up to six months.

• Verb (intransitive - to yield):

  • On technical matters, I defer to the engineers.
  • He deferred to his elder sister's greater experience in such situations.

Advanced Usage

• "to defer to someone/something": This phrasal construction is used specifically for the meaning of yielding or submitting to authority, expertise, or seniority.
  • The junior judge deferred to the Supreme Court's precedent.
• Deferred as an adjective: Describes something postponed.
  • She received a deferred admission to the university, meaning she would start next year.

Variants and Related Words

• Deferment (n): The act of postponing or the state of being postponed.
  • He applied for a deferment of his military service.
• Deferral (n): An instance of deferring; a postponement. Often used interchangeably with "deferment," especially in financial contexts.
  • The bank offers a payment deferral for qualified customers.
• Deferential (adj): Showing respect and submission to the judgment or authority of another.
  • His tone was polite and deferential when speaking to the professor.

Synonyms

• Postpone, delay, put off: For the meaning of delaying an action.
• Yield, submit, acquiesce, capitulate: For the meaning of yielding to another.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Defer to: To yield to someone's opinion or judgment. (This is the primary and almost exclusive phrasal verb form for this word).
  • In matters of art, I always defer to the curator's expertise.

Related Idioms

• None commonly associated solely with "defer." The word's meanings are typically expressed directly in the phrases and constructions shown above.

Verb

1. yield to another's wish or opinion
   • The government bowed to the military pressure
2. hold back to a later time
   • let's postpone the exam