delegate
Americannoun
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a person designated to act for or represent another or others; deputy; representative, as in a political convention.
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(formerly) the representative of a Territory in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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a member of the lower house of the state legislature of Maryland, Virginia, or West Virginia.
noun
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a person chosen or elected to act for or represent another or others, esp at a conference or meeting
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government a representative of a territory in the US House of Representatives
verb
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to give or commit (duties, powers, etc) to another as agent or representative; depute
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(tr) to send, authorize, or elect (a person) as agent or representative
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(tr) to assign (a person owing a debt to oneself) to one's creditor in substitution for oneself
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nondelegatenoun
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undelegatedadjective
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delegableadjective
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delegatornoun
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subdelegateverb (used with object)
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delegateenoun
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redelegateverb (used with object)
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subdelegatenoun
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predelegatenoun
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have delegatedperfect
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has delegatedperfect 3rd person singular
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am delegatingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been delegatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are delegatingprogressive
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have been delegatingperfect progressive
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delegatingparticiple
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delegatessingular 3rd person
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is delegatingprogressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had delegatedperfect
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was delegatingprogressive singular
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were delegatingprogressive plural
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delegatedparticiple
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had been delegatingperfect progressive
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delegatedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of delegate
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English (past participle) delegat, from Medieval Latin dēlēgātus, noun use of past participle of dēlēgāre “to assign,” equivalent to dē- de- + lēgātus “deputed”; see legate
Explanation
Delegate lends an official air to passing off your work. If you don't like cleaning the bathroom, you can try to delegate that task to your little brother. A delegate is also an elected official, or the person who is doing the task you delegated them to do. In presidential primaries in the United States, you do not vote for a candidate, you vote for a delegate whose job it is to vote for that candidate at a convention. Be careful with how you pronounce the end of the word. The elected official is pronounced DE-lə-git whereas delegate as a verb should be DE-lə-gāt.
Vocabulary lists containing delegate
The Bill of Rights
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List 4
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U.S. Government Lingo
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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.
An A-CAP affiliate, ACM Delegate, foreclosed on all of Glutality’s assets, valued at $25.5 million, in July 2025, according to filings.
From Barron's • Mar. 4, 2026
“Buddy saw an opportunity and took it,” said Virginia Delegate John McAuliff, whose district partially overlaps with Loudoun County.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2026
RESULTS: The AP will update its Delegate Tracker with Guam delegate results when the Democratic Party of Guam makes them available.
From Seattle Times • May 31, 2024
Delegate Lanhee Chen, a Stanford University professor and former advisor to GOP presidential candidates such as Mitt Romney, argued that a Trump reelection would be a “mixed bag” for California.
From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2024
Believing that the characters of public men are public property, I desire, with your permission, to speak through the columns of the 'Spectator' about some of the doings of our Delegate in Congress.
From Dr. John McLoughlin, the Father of Oregon by Holman, Frederick Van Voorhies
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
