superdelegate

American

[soo-per-del-i-git, ‑-geyt] / ˈsu pərˌdɛl ɪ gɪt, ‑ˌgeɪt /

Or super-delegate

noun

a party leader or elected public official chosen as an uncommitted delegate to a national political convention.

superdelegate British

/ ˈsuːpəˌdɛlɪɡɪt /

noun

another name for an unpledged delegate

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of superdelegate

First recorded in 1984

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.

Moses Mercado, the recall’s field organizer, was a superdelegate for Barack Obama who has lived in the city for 31 years.

From New York Times • Mar. 2, 2024

For his trouble, an unnamed Democratic superdelegate, while talking to Didion, likened Jackson to a "terrorist."

From Salon • Dec. 28, 2021

Chad Nodland, a North Dakota superdelegate, had stayed involved with the Democrats since the 1980s, when he rebooted the College Dems chapter at the state’s biggest university.

From Washington Post • Jun. 7, 2016

Dennis Archer, a superdelegate from Michigan and former mayor of Detroit, said lobbying was fine.

From The Guardian • Apr. 19, 2016

But the superdelegate trigger has never been pulled.

From Slate • Apr. 13, 2016

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023