delegation

[del-i-gey-shuhn]

noun

1. a group or body of delegates.

   Our club sent a delegation to the rally.

2. the body of delegates chosen to represent a political unit, as a state, in an assembly.

   the New Jersey delegation in Congress.

   Synonyms: commission

3. the act of delegating.

4. the state of being delegated.

delegation

/ ˌdɛlɪˈɡeɪʃən /

noun

1. a person or group chosen to represent another or others

2. the act of delegating or state of being delegated

3. politics all the members of Congress from one state

Other Word Forms

• nondelegation noun
• predelegation noun
• redelegation noun
• subdelegation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of delegation¹

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin dēlēgātiōn-, stem of dēlēgātiō “assignment, appointment,” equivalent to dēlēgāt(us) “assigned, appointed” ( delegate ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

A number of country delegations were forced to take shelter outside under the roof of a petrol station, a member of the UK delegation told the BBC.

Read more on BBC

"Obviously, it would be great if Australia could have it all, but we can't have it all," Mr Bowen told reporters outside the Australian delegation offices here in Belém.

Read more on BBC

Some Republicans in the Texas delegation were initially skeptical of the redistricting push.

Read more on Salon

The bloc will also host a Palestinian donor conference the same day, bringing together around 60 delegations, including Arab states -- but not Israel.

Read more on Barron's

Do you think the Pentagon delegation will be successful in advancing stalled peace talks?

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• commission 
• contingent 
• embassy 
• gathering 
• organization