delegate

American  

[del-i-git, -geyt, del-i-geyt] / ˈdɛl ɪ gɪt, -ˌgeɪt, ˈdɛl ɪˌgeɪt /

noun

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

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

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

---

verb (used with object)

delegated, delegating

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

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

   Synonyms:

   transfer, assign, entrust

delegate British  

/ ˈdɛlɪɡəbəl /

noun

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

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

---

verb

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

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

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

Other Word Forms

• delegable adjective
• delegatee noun
• delegator noun
• nondelegate noun
• predelegate noun
• redelegate verb (used with object)
• subdelegate noun
• undelegated adjective

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.

Example Sentences

President Franklin D. Roosevelt acknowledged this in 1945, when he appointed Dulles as a delegate to the San Francisco Conference on international organization, which helped establish the United Nations.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

The high courts often delegate some authority to the state bar or involve the bar in the process.

From Slate • Apr. 10, 2026

"The Americans are highly awaited; without them, we can't move forward," confided one delegate from a Southeast Asian country, speaking on condition of anonymity.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

“When you go from assistant coach to head coach, you have to take a few steps back. But you need to make sure you delegate to competent people,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026

The chaplain shook his head, feeling despicably remiss because he did not know how to delegate responsibility and had no initiative, and because he really had been tempted to disagree with the colonel.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Related Words

• commissioner
• deputy
• envoy
• member
• minister
• nominee
• senator