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

DEFER definition: to put off (action, consideration, etc.) to a future time. See examples of defer used in a sentence.

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 delay …

de•fer 1 (dɪˈfɜr) v.t. -ferred, -fer•ring. 1. to postpone; delay. 2. to exempt temporarily from induction into military service.

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

DEFER meaning: 1 : to choose to do (something) at a later time; 2 : to allow (someone else) to decide or choose something