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
For more complex queries, such as analyzing user behavior and recommending nearby events, the glasses would defer to server-side AI.
—
Wei Duan, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the Chevron doctrine, which for 40 years had obligated courts to defer to agency interpretation when a statute was ambiguous and when the accompanying agency interpretation was reasonable or permissible.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 17 Jan. 2025
But three weeks after Trump's victory in November, a judge acting on the request of special counsel Jack Smith − who deferred to Justice Department policy not to prosecute a sitting president − dismissed the charges that Trump tried to steal the election in 2020.
—Michael Collins, USA TODAY, 16 Jan. 2025
When the case was argued, Elena Kagan, then the U.S. solicitor general, said courts should defer to the government’s assessments of national security threats.
—Adam Liptak, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for defer to 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Wei Duan, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the Chevron doctrine, which for 40 years had obligated courts to defer to agency interpretation when a statute was ambiguous and when the accompanying agency interpretation was reasonable or permissible.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 17 Jan. 2025
But three weeks after Trump's victory in November, a judge acting on the request of special counsel Jack Smith − who deferred to Justice Department policy not to prosecute a sitting president − dismissed the charges that Trump tried to steal the election in 2020.
—Michael Collins, USA TODAY, 16 Jan. 2025
When the case was argued, Elena Kagan, then the U.S. solicitor general, said courts should defer to the government’s assessments of national security threats.
—Adam Liptak, New York Times, 9 Jan. 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 2 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share