demote
Americanverb (used with object)
-
demotes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
demoted,
past participle, past
-
demoting
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
demotesimple
-
demotessimple
-
have demotedperfect
-
has demotedperfect
-
am demotingprogressive
-
are demotingprogressive
-
is demotingprogressive
-
have been demotingperfect progressive
-
has been demotingperfect progressive
Past
-
demotedsimple
-
had demotedperfect
-
was demotingprogressive
-
were demotingprogressive
-
had been demotingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of demote
Explanation
To demote someone is to move them into a less important job. Your coffee shop boss might demote you to wiping tables if your attempts to froth milk and pull espresso shots continuously fail. When your employer demotes you, she assigns you an easier task or even an entirely new, lower-ranked position. You may even earn less money. In the military, to demote is to move a soldier down in rank, usually as a punishment. The opposite of demote is promote, which came first. The prefix de- gives the word a sense of "down" or "down from."
Vocabulary lists containing demote
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie
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!
They Both Die at the End
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!
Vocabulary from the Twelfth Republican Debate, March 10, 2016
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:
Kelly filed a lawsuit in January that accused Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of violating his First Amendment rights by moving to formally censure him and demote him over the video.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026
Hegseth issued a letter of censure against the retired Navy veteran and announced the Department of Defense would decide whether to demote Kelly and reduce his pension in the coming weeks.
From Salon ● Jan. 12, 2026
The Tesla board would probably have to remove or at least demote him.
From Slate ● Jun. 9, 2025
Max Verstappen says it "was not a mistake" that he liked a comment on social media describing Red Bull's decision to demote Liam Lawson as "a panic move" and "close to bullying".
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2025
In a furious squabble of accusation and recrimination he would demote officers and promote the most unlikely soldiers from the ranks.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
The Company rakes her over the coals, demotes her, and doesn’t believe her report about an alien creature that has a razor-sharp tail, knife-like teeth and highly caustic acid for blood.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2025
The chart formula automatically demotes songs that have had three consecutive weeks of declining streaming figures, when compared with the rest of the market.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2025
Facebook said it also demotes content from news publishers that users rate as untrusted in surveys and content posted by pages or accounts that repeatedly violate its rules.
From Reuters ● Sep. 23, 2021
Of course, as soon as Coleman demotes him we know his resentment will boil over.
From New York Times ● Jul. 5, 2016
“When an employer demotes an employee out of a desire to prevent the employee from engaging in political activity that the First Amendment protects, the employee is entitled to challenge that unlawful action.”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 26, 2016
Leclerc, though, felt Norris would certainly be in the fight, and both have some protection from Hamilton and Antonelli, both demoted by three-place penalties to fifth and seventh respectively.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
He even spent much of 2024 demoted back to Triple-A.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
The man who shockingly demoted then-24-year-old goalkeeper Guillermo “Memo” Ochoa in favor of a more experienced player prior to the 2010 World Cup was now relying on upstarts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
Lyon won an appeal against relegation the following month, after initially being demoted to Ligue 2 by French football's financial watchdog.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
Since then, Ulbrickson had tried everything—he’d scolded Joe, he’d encouraged him, he’d demoted him, he’d repromoted him.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
The commission said Thursday that it is concerned that Google might be demoting news media and other publishers’ websites and content in search results when they include content from third-party commercial partners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2025
The European Commission said Google is demoting media publishers' websites and content in search results when they include content from commercial partners, such as sponsored editorial pieces.
From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2025
The Briton was controversially penalised at Sunday's United States Grand Prix, demoting him from third to fourth behind Verstappen, for overtaking off track.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2024
Editors subsequently took away his column, demoting him to reporter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2024
He regarded this as a slight, that I was in effect demoting him, and he refused, choosing instead to run for the presidency himself.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions 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.
