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

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

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 …

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

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 …

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.

Definition of defer verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

If you defer to someone, you accept their opinion or do what they want you to do, even when you do not agree with it yourself, because you respect them or their authority.

Defer definition: To put off; postpone.

Accepting & agreeing reluctantly (Definition of defer to someone/something from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)