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Definition of defer verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

defer

verb
 
/dɪˈfɜː(r)/
 
/dɪˈfɜːr/
(formal)
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they defer
 
/dɪˈfɜː(r)/
 
/dɪˈfɜːr/
he / she / it defers
 
/dɪˈfɜːz/
 
/dɪˈfɜːrz/
past simple deferred
 
/dɪˈfɜːd/
 
/dɪˈfɜːrd/
past participle deferred
 
/dɪˈfɜːd/
 
/dɪˈfɜːrd/
-ing form deferring
 
/dɪˈfɜːrɪŋ/
 
/dɪˈfɜːrɪŋ/
Phrasal Verbs
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  1. defer (doing) something to delay something until a later time synonym put off
    • The department deferred the decision for six months.
    • She had applied for deferred admission to college.
    Extra Examples
    • Sentence was deferred for six months.
    • The decision has been deferred indefinitely.
    • We agreed to defer discussion of these issues until the next meeting.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • indefinitely
    • endlessly
    verb + defer
    • agree to
    • decide to
    preposition
    • for
    • pending
    • till
    See full entry
    Word Originverb late Middle English (also in the sense ‘put on one side’): from Old French differer ‘defer or differ’, from Latin differre, from dis- ‘apart’ + ferre ‘bring, carry’. Compare with differ. defer to somebody/​something. late Middle English: from Old French deferer, from Latin deferre ‘carry away, refer (a matter)’, from de- ‘away from’ + ferre ‘bring, carry’.
See defer in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee defer in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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