delegate

[ noun del-i-git, -geyt; verb del-i-geyt ]

/ noun ˈdɛl ɪ gɪt, -ˌgeɪt; verb ˈdɛl ɪˌgeɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR delegate ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person designated to act for or represent another or others; deputy; representative, as in a political convention.

(formerly) the representative of a Territory in the U.S. House of Representatives.

a member of the lower house of the state legislature of Maryland, Virginia, or West Virginia.

verb (used with object), del·e·gat·ed, del·e·gat·ing.

to send or appoint (a person) as deputy or representative.

to commit (powers, functions, etc.) to another as agent or deputy.

Nearby words

delectation, deledda, delegable, delegacy, delegalize, delegate, delegation, delegatory, delegitimatize, delegitimize, delete

Origin of delegate

1350–1400; Middle English (noun) < Medieval Latin dēlēgātus, noun use of Latin: past participle of dēlēgāre to assign, equivalent to dē- de- + lēgātus deputed; see legate

SYNONYMS FOR delegate

5 entrust, assign, transfer.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR delegate ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

del·e·ga·tee

[del-i-guh-tee] /ˌdɛl ɪ gəˈti/, noundel·e·ga·tor

[del-i-gey-ter] /ˈdɛl ɪˌgeɪ tər/, nounnon·del·e·gate, nounpre·del·e·gate, noun, verb, pre·del·e·gat·ed, pre·del·e·gat·ing.

re·del·e·gate, verb (used with object), re·del·e·gat·ed, re·del·e·gat·ing.sub·del·e·gate, nounsub·del·e·gate, verb (used with object), sub·del·e·gat·ed, sub·del·e·gat·ing.un·del·e·gat·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for delegate

The Stalwarts hoped to swarm the convention and force a challenge to the delegate roll.
The GOP’s Last Identity Crisis Remade U.S. Politics|Michael Wolraich|July 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Under the Soviet regime, people preferred to delegate power and decision-making to others—Stalin, for example.
Inside ‘Maidan’: Sergei Loznitsa on His Ukrainian Uprising Doc and Putin’s ‘Fascist’ Regime|Richard Porton|May 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Though the commander-in-chief should delegate as much as possible, wartime relationships matter.
How Obama Lost Afghanistan|Elise Jordan|April 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It seemed that little Shirley Temple had grown up to be a delegate to the United Nations.
When Hollywood Flirted with Porn: 1969, ‘Myra Breckinridge,’ ‘Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,’ & 20th Century Fox|Robert Hofler|February 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST

This is more important than it may seem because it only allows a two-week window where delegate contests have to be proportional.
With New Primary Rules, RNC Panel Will Aid the Establishment in 2016|Ben Jacobs|January 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The first abstract of votes polled in St. Croix county was for delegate to Congress and for county officers.
Fifty Years In The Northwest|William Henry Carman Folsom
It does not say that a delegate must not be a woman, or must be a man.
Samantha Among the Brethren, Part 7.|Josiah Allen's Wife (Marietta Holley)
I am the unworthy servant and delegate of him who holds the keys.
The White Company|Arthur Conan Doyle
I propose to you that we appoint our leader here, Le Chapelier, to be that delegate.
Scaramouche|Rafael Sabatini
A Delegate—It was not put in the form of an amendment; it was put as a distinct motion.
Proceedings of the Second National Conservation Congress|Various

British Dictionary definitions for delegate

delegate

noun (ˈdɛlɪˌɡeɪt, -ɡɪt)

a person chosen or elected to act for or represent another or others, esp at a conference or meeting

US government a representative of a territory in the US House of Representatives

verb (ˈdɛlɪˌɡeɪt)

to give or commit (duties, powers, etc) to another as agent or representative; depute

(tr) to send, authorize, or elect (a person) as agent or representative

(tr) mainly US to assign (a person owing a debt to oneself) to one's creditor in substitution for oneself

Derived Forms

delegable (ˈdɛlɪɡəbəl), adjective

Word Origin for delegate

C14: from Latin dēlēgāre to send on a mission, from lēgāre to send, depute; see legate

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