What does defer mean?
Word: Defer
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Defer means to put something off until a later time.
Synonyms: delay
How do you spell defer?
Syllables: de - fer
Tricky part: Pupils often double the f, perhaps because of offer. This word keeps a single f.
Watch out for: deffer, diffur
Memory tip: Think of one small fish in a pond: one f is all this word has room for.
Defer in a sentence
Example 1: Can we defer our picnic until the exams are over?
Example 2: My cousin chose to defer her college place for a year.
Example 3: The bank agreed to defer the next repayment by a month.
Fun Fact
Defer and differ grew from the same Latin verb, which meant to carry apart. One kept the idea of setting things apart in time, the other the idea of being unlike.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Because of the heavy monsoon rain, the head teacher decided to defur the annual swimming gala until the second week of August.
a) monsoon
b) defur
c) decided
d) annual
Show answer
b) defur. The second vowel is an e; no u belongs in this word.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
deferr
a) f
b) d
c) e
d) r
Show answer
d) r. In its base form the word ends with one r.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word defer as used in the sentence:
The club voted to defer its trip to the hills until the roads were repaired.
a) prepare
b) announce
c) postpone
d) cancel
Show answer
c) postpone. To postpone is to move something to a later date; the trip is still going ahead, just not yet.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. hesitete 2. accomodate 3. discribe 4. defer
a) leave a task or decision for another day
b) provide someone with room or a place to stay
c) pause before doing or saying something
d) say in words what something is like
Show answer
a) leave a task or decision for another day. Defer is right; hesitate, accommodate and describe are each misspelt here.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Riya has a piano lesson on the day of a test. Which choice shows her deferring it?
a) She moves the lesson to the following week.
b) She asks her brother to go instead.
c) She says she will never go again.
d) She goes in the morning before the test.
Show answer
a) She moves the lesson to the following week.
2. What would best explain deferring an outdoor concert?
a) a sale on concert tickets
b) a forecast of heavy storms
c) a bigger crowd than usual
d) a new song for the choir
Show answer
b) a forecast of heavy storms
