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
By simulating expert decision-making across 30,000 real-world fraud cases, the framework allows financial institutions to evaluate when and how AI systems should defer to human judgment, critical in high-stakes decisions such as loan approvals, payment blocks, and identity verification.
—
Christer Holloman, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
Reached by phone, McBroom deferred to his Facebook post and declined further comment.
—Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 21 May 2025
The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office declined to comment when approached by Newsweek, deferring to Murrill's office.
—Dan Gooding
gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 May 2025
That has made a number of the most politically vulnerable House Republicans — a bloc that party leaders typically defer to in an attempt to keep their majority — major players in the debate over Medicaid, perhaps the biggest sticking point in the legislation.
—Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for defer to
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Christer Holloman, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
Reached by phone, McBroom deferred to his Facebook post and declined further comment.
—Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 21 May 2025
The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office declined to comment when approached by Newsweek, deferring to Murrill's office.
—Dan Gooding
gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 May 2025
That has made a number of the most politically vulnerable House Republicans — a bloc that party leaders typically defer to in an attempt to keep their majority — major players in the debate over Medicaid, perhaps the biggest sticking point in the legislation.
—Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for defer to
Cite this Entry
“Defer to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defer%20to. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.
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