Entry 5 senses · 4 variants Webster, 1913 Defer /dĭf-ẽr'/ · De·fer · IPA /dɪˈfɝ/ v. t. v. i. v. t. v. i. 01 v. t. To put off; to postpone to a future time; to delay the execution of; to delay; to withhold. imp. & p. p. Deferred; p. pr. & vb. n. Deferring 1. To put off; to postpone to a future time; to delay the execution of; to delay; to withhold. “Defer the spoil of the city until night.” — Shak. “God . . . will not long defer To vindicate the glory of his name.” — Milton. 02 v. i. To put off; to delay to act; to wait. 1. To put off; to delay to act; to wait. “Pius was able to defer and temporize at leisure.” — J. A. Symonds. 03 v. t. To render or offer. 1. To render or offer.[Obs.] “Worship deferred to the Virgin.” — Brevint. 2. To lay before; to submit in a respectful manner; to refer; -- with to. “Hereupon the commissioners . . . deferred the matter to the Earl of Northumberland.” — Bacon. 04 v. i. To yield deference to the wishes of another; to submit to the opinion of another, or to authority; -- with to. 1. To yield deference to the wishes of another; to submit to the opinion of another, or to authority; -- with to. “The house, deferring to legal right, acquiesced.” — Bancroft.