depute
Americanverb (used with object)
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deputes,
present (3rd person singular)
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deputed,
past participle, past
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deputing
present participle
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to appoint as one's substitute, representative, or agent.
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to assign (authority, a function, etc.) to a deputy.
verb
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to appoint as an agent, substitute, or representative
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to assign or transfer (authority, duties, etc) to a deputy; delegate
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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deputesimple
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deputessimple
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have deputedperfect
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has deputedperfect
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am deputingprogressive
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are deputingprogressive
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is deputingprogressive
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have been deputingperfect progressive
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has been deputingperfect progressive
Past
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deputedsimple
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had deputedperfect
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was deputingprogressive
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were deputingprogressive
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had been deputingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of depute
1350–1400; Middle English deputen < Anglo-French, Old French deputer to assign < Late Latin dēputāre to allot, Latin: to consider, equivalent to dē- de- + putāre to think
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The advocate depute suggested there were "significant similarities" in the testimony of each witness.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
The fiscal depute said the Crown position was that the number of fastening clips had been insufficient, and wave action on the journey would have been sufficient force to cause them to fail.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
In 2009 she was appointed the principal advocate depute, becoming the first woman to be appointed to this post.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
Bain served as an advocate depute in the Crown Office from 2002 to 2011, securing the first murder conviction against serial killer Peter Tobin during that time.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
If George does not like anything he had better tell me so, and not depute you to do it for him.
From Is He Popenjoy? by Anthony Trollope
Thirdly, those on more than £60,000 - essentially some heads and deputes - will receive a flat pay rise of £3,000.
From BBC ● Jan. 6, 2023
Under the terms of the latest offer, pay rises would be capped for those earning above £60,000 - principally some heads and deputes.
From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2022
The deputes start moving toward him and he starts walking at them again.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 23, 2022
At about 10:40 p.m., deputes in Nash County tried to pull the vehicle over, Stone said.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 12, 2022
If thunder's awful, how much more our dread, When Jove deputes a lady in his stead?
From The Poetical Works of Edward Young, Volume 2 by Edward Young
"But media teams deputed inside Jinnah Convention Centre do not know what's happening outside."
From Barron's ● Apr. 11, 2026
"So far we have captured 10 leopards," says AK Singh, the forest official deputed of the district.
From BBC ● May 18, 2023
When he failed to do so, his cousin Amy Lowell took on the task: “I like to imagine that the task has been deputed to me in his stead.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 29, 2022
He was usually deputed to pick up the opposing playmaker and the coach Bobby Haarms described him as being "like a kamikaze pilot" as he pursued him, often deep into opposition territory.
From The Guardian ● May 22, 2013
Not the king's crown, nor the deputed sword, the marshal's truncheon, nor the judge's robe, become them with one half so good a grace as mercy doth.
From Wild Oats or, The Strolling Gentlemen by Anonymous
Amid fresh cries of "Shame!" irate M. P.'s exacted a promise that there be no "deputing."
From Time Magazine Archive
At one moment they half resolved on deputing a message to the chamber of the Prince; at another they discussed the propriety of departing in a body.
From Gerald Fitzgerald The Chevalier by Charles James Lever
I couldn't think of deputing the task to my father.
From The Doctor's Dilemma by Hesba Stretton
John Massingbird possessed a ready hand at packing and arranging; and therefore he preferred doing it himself to deputing it to others.
From Verner's Pride by Mrs. Henry Wood
Deputā′tion, act of deputing: the person or persons deputed or appointed to transact business for another: persons sent to state a case before a government official.—v.t.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
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