defer to
phrasal verb
deferred to; deferring to; defers to
1
: to allow (someone else) to decide or choose something
You have more experience with this, so I'm going to defer to you.
deferring to the experts
2
defer to (something)
: to agree to follow (someone else's decision, a tradition, etc.)
The court defers to precedent in cases like these.
He deferred to his parents' wishes.
Examples of defer to in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines deferred to A4A for comment.
—
Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2025
The Senate had deferred to the House for weeks to kickstart the process, but began pushing ahead earlier this month.
—Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 19 Feb. 2025
Senate leaders initially deferred to the House, but after internal divisions slowed their efforts to put together a budget plan, Mr. Graham went ahead and advanced his own plan.
—Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
Asked for a response, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office had no comment, but deferred to state agency spokespeople.
—Russ Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for defer to 
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Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2025
The Senate had deferred to the House for weeks to kickstart the process, but began pushing ahead earlier this month.
—Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 19 Feb. 2025
Senate leaders initially deferred to the House, but after internal divisions slowed their efforts to put together a budget plan, Mr. Graham went ahead and advanced his own plan.
—Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
Asked for a response, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office had no comment, but deferred to state agency spokespeople.
—Russ Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for defer to
Dictionary Entries Near defer to
Cite this Entry
“Defer to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defer%20to. Accessed 24 Feb. 2025.
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