How to Use defer in a Sentence

defer

verb
  • Backers say the arrangement will make patients more cost-conscious and judicious in their use of medical service, thus restraining health-cost increases; critics say it will cause patients to defer needed treatment and will be attractive only to younger, healthier workers.
    Wall Street Journal, 9 Jan. 2006
  • The 49ers win the toss and elected to defer to the second half.
    Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 21 Nov. 2022
  • Many of the firm’s clients are deferred in lieu of jail time.
    Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 1 July 2023
  • That has prompted calls for the board at least to defer its vote.
    Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2022
  • Jack deferred a lifelong dream for the sake of his kids.
    Candice Frederick, Harper's BAZAAR, 17 Jan. 2018
  • Against Tennessee, the Chiefs won the toss and deferred.
    John Holler, USA TODAY Sportsbook Wire, 31 Jan. 2020
  • Beane felt like that was the case, but deferred to Richardson on the subject.
    Joseph Person, charlotteobserver, 16 May 2017
  • The fund is able to defer redemptions by up to two years.
    Julie Steinberg, WSJ, 5 Jan. 2023
  • The six coin tosses won by the 49ers were all deferred so the offense could open the second half.
    Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2024
  • And the best part with both Jimmy and Tyler is that each is willing to defer.
    Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 2 Jan. 2023
  • That is why Heat cap space appears to be a dream deferred.
    Ira Winderman, Sun-Sentinel.com, 2 May 2018
  • Payment on the loans can be deferred for 30 years, or until the home is sold.
    Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 13 Nov. 2019
  • But a bigger conflict over whether to share the costs of the health crisis was deferred.
    Laurence Norman, WSJ, 9 Apr. 2020
  • The companies can defer payments for up to six months, the Fed said.
    Christopher Rugaber, Anchorage Daily News, 23 Mar. 2020
  • Some street people, like her, aren’t in need of a bedroll and defer to others.
    Diane Bellcolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Nov. 2022
  • For Ashford herself, the show is a dream long deferred.
    Maria Ward, Vogue, 28 Mar. 2023
  • Oregon State wins the toss, defers choice to second half.
    Ndaschel, oregonlive, 9 Sep. 2023
  • Teams almost always defer and take the ball in the second half.
    Terry Pluto, cleveland.com, 22 Oct. 2017
  • For some, the trick was to defer gracefully to whoever had the strictest regime.
    Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2021
  • One lender may not require payments at all in the meantime and defer them to the future.
    Saurabh Shah, Forbes, 28 May 2021
  • The court deferred ruling on whether Disney infringed on the VFX firm’s patents.
    Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Mar. 2024
  • Come was sentenced to 12 months in the House of Corrections, which is deferred for a year, the statement said.
    Claire Law, BostonGlobe.com, 12 May 2023
  • Others may be able to defer the debt to an interest-free loan at the end of the mortgage.
    Washington Post, 1 Aug. 2021
  • Nowadays, justice deferred is just fine by the fan base.
    Chris Willman, Variety, 23 Oct. 2023
  • If Freeman is traded, his new team would not be able to defer any of the money he is still owed.
    Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2022
  • Hope deferred means another day, week, or year that a rapist remains on the street. . .
    Tom Jackman, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Sep. 2019
  • The team would defer the deal’s balance, some $680 million — and pay it to Ohtani more than a decade from now, when he is retired.
    Joe Mathews, The Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2024
  • Wednesday would have been the pinnacle if both teams had been at the peak of their powers, but that will be a dream deferred.
    al, 2 Mar. 2023
  • Bent had just asked the court to renew the arrest warrant, but the judge had deferred the decision to the Vermont Supreme Court.
    Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 20 Dec. 2023
  • Yet when tragedy strikes and her parents are killed in a car accident, her dreams are deferred.
    Guy Lodge, chicagotribune.com, 5 Dec. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'defer.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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