推遲 is a transitive verb meaning 'to postpone' or 'to delay'—to move an event, action, or deadline to a later time. The first character 推 literally means 'to push' and suggests moving something forward in space or time; the second character 迟 means 'late' or 'delayed', emphasizing the temporal shift. Together, they form a compound that conveys actively rescheduling something to occur later than originally planned.

This word is commonly used in formal and semi-formal contexts: scheduling meetings, academic deadlines, travel plans, medical appointments, or official announcements. It typically follows a subject and precedes the object (e.g., the meeting, the exam, the trip), and often appears with time expressions like 明天, 下周, or 一个月后. Unlike casual alternatives like 拖 (‘to drag out’), 推遲 carries a neutral-to-polite tone and implies intentionality and responsibility—not negligence.