What does "defer" mean?
Defer: To render or offer. [Obs.] Worship deferred to the Virgin. Brevint.
Additional senses
- 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.
- 3.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.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00