To defer means to put something off until later. When you defer a decision, you choose not to decide right now, waiting until you have more information or time to think. A student might ask to defer taking a difficult test until next week, after they've had more time to study.

The word also means to yield to someone else's judgment or authority out of respect for their knowledge or position. When a group defers to their teacher's opinion about which book to read, they're accepting her choice because they trust her expertise. You might defer to your older sister's advice about middle school because she's already been through it. This kind of deference shows respect: you're acknowledging that someone else knows more or has better judgment about a particular situation.

In sports, the team that wins the coin toss might defer their choice until the second half, letting the other team decide first. In formal writing, you might see phrases like “with all due deference,” meaning “with proper respect for.”