delegate
Americannoun
-
delegates
plural
-
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.
noun
-
a person chosen or elected to act for or represent another or others, esp at a conference or meeting
-
government a representative of a territory in the US House of Representatives
verb
-
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) to assign (a person owing a debt to oneself) to one's creditor in substitution for oneself
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
delegateenoun
-
delegatornoun
-
nondelegatenoun
-
predelegatenoun
-
subdelegatenoun
-
redelegateverb (used with object)
-
subdelegateverb (used with object)
-
delegableadjective
-
undelegatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
delegatesimple
-
delegatessimple
-
have delegatedperfect
-
has delegatedperfect
-
am delegatingprogressive
-
are delegatingprogressive
-
is delegatingprogressive
-
have been delegatingperfect progressive
-
has been delegatingperfect progressive
Past
-
delegatedsimple
-
had delegatedperfect
-
was delegatingprogressive
-
were delegatingprogressive
-
had been delegatingperfect progressive
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
List 4
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
U.S. Government Lingo
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
He served on the Bowie City Council before becoming a Maryland state delegate in 2023.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
Even as the company’s researchers delegate to AI, it’s worth remembering that 0% of this work is being done entirely by AI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
It’s that a woman who has paid to delegate a household task may find herself unexpectedly responsible for supervising its completion.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026
A two-person management committee would assume day-to-day responsibilities, with Overdeck and Siegel each appointing their own delegate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
Not that you ever really give up the hustle, it seems, but they delegate certain activities to young hungry up-and-comers my age.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
Late in the convention, the delegates adopted the additional phrase “or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” in important part to expand the reach of impeachable corruption beyond technical bribery.
From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2026
Under the constitution, Congress has authority over tariffs, which it delegates to the president in specific circumstances.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
Yet it’s unclear how many were able to attend, with some delegates forced to drive hours across the desert from Bahrain or Jordan to reach Riyadh.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
The annual event, co-ordinated by the Guernsey Nature Commission, brings together delegates to share ideas and develop joint projects aimed at protecting the natural environment.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
I got time off from my job at the South Side Boys’ Club and, along with several other delegates, hitchhiked to New York.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
Seabright found that the revision made no meaningful difference because those powers could not have been delegated to Essayli in the first place.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Stevenson sits on the equality, human rights and civil justice committee as well as the transport committee, and is a substitute member of the delegated powers and law reform committee.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
“This is the thing that as of today cannot be delegated to AI,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Those people said his condition eventually improved and he has delegated responsibilities to his executive team.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
But first a tissue sample had to be provided, which required a tricky biopsy that Farmer delegated to a very competent Haitian surgeon in Mirebalais.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Broadly worded constitutional provisions can be regarded as delegating a degree of authority to apply those provisions to new situations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Wasn’t it true, a juror asked, that he had taken to delegating tasks to subordinates in recent years?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
"Alter-Ego" may seem capable but "no-one has considered directly delegating the administration of pills" to it, neurologist Rachele Piras said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026
"Militaries adopt AI to speed up processes such as target identification. But delegating life-and-death decisions to machines poses profound ethical and human rights risks," said Patrick Wilcken of Amnesty International.
From BBC ● May 6, 2026
This morning Dad has taken the liberty of delegating tasks through passive-aggressive Post-it notes hidden like Easter eggs all over the house.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
