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.

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verb (used with object)

delegates, present (3rd person singular) delegated, past participle, past delegating present participle

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

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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

Derived Forms

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

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have delegated
  perfect
• has delegated
  perfect 3rd person singular
• am delegating
  progressive 1st person singular
• has been delegating
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• are delegating
  progressive
• have been delegating
  perfect progressive
• delegating
  participle
• delegates
  singular 3rd person
• is delegating
  progressive 3rd person singular

Past

• had delegated
  perfect
• was delegating
  progressive singular
• were delegating
  progressive plural
• delegated
  participle
• had been delegating
  perfect progressive
• delegated
  simple

Future

• will delegate
  simple
• will have delegated
  perfect
• will be delegating
  progressive
• will have been delegating
  perfect progressive

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

The French firm offers a software platform with autonomous AI agents to which users can delegate tasks, able to aggregate large quantites of data from varying sources.

From Barron's • May 28, 2026

Orozco Romero called the DCCC’s decision to back Bains “stupid and morally not OK,” especially since neither of the candidates earned enough delegate support to win the state party endorsement earlier this year.

From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026

He will be assisted by army chief of staff Gen Oumar ⁠Diarra, who has been appointed minister delegate.

From BBC • May 4, 2026

“He didn’t address the elephant in the room,” one delegate told me, referring to the Piker controversy.

From Slate • Apr. 29, 2026

On March 14 Burnham joined Davis for dinner with Japan’s delegate to the fair, at the Chicago Club.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Related Words

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