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# defer

«defer» in Mova's school dictionary: **To put off something until later; to delay: the meeting…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 3 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (defer, defers, deferred, deferring)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (formal) To put off something until later; to delay: the meeting was deferred until next week. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defer/#m1)

2) (formal) Defer to: to accept someone else's opinion or decision because you respect them or they know more: I defer to your experience. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defer/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

A formal word of letters, school notices and exam language. In everyday talk people say "put off" or "postpone". Phrases: defer to, deferred payment, defer a decision.

### examples

- (formal) The trip has been deferred because of the snow. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defer/#x1)
- The decision was deferred until all the parents had replied. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defer/#x2)
- On matters of football, I defer to my brother. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defer/#x3)
- (formal) Payment may be deferred until the end of the month. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defer/#x4)
- She deferred her university place for a year. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defer/#x5)
- (formal) Subsequently, the match was deferred to the following Saturday. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defer/#x6)
- As the hunchback was one of the Sultan's private jesters, the chief of police resolved to defer sentence of death until he had consulted his master. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defer/#x7)

### note

Double r in the past: deferred, deferring. Stress on the second syllable: de-FER. Nouns: deferral (delay), deference (respect). Same as "postpone" in the first meaning.

### In the corpora

- ["Deferred success" is a joking UK phrase for failure.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/17-school-and-pets/9/)
- [And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.1074/)
- [Hope deferred maketh the heart sick; but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/jps/PRO.361/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «defer» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defer/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.