deputize
Americanverb (used with object)
-
deputizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
deputized,
past participle, past
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deputizing
present participle
verb (used without object)
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deputizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
deputized,
past participle, past
-
deputizing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
deputizesimple
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deputizessimple
-
have deputizedperfect
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has deputizedperfect
-
am deputizingprogressive
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are deputizingprogressive
-
is deputizingprogressive
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have been deputizingperfect progressive
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has been deputizingperfect progressive
Past
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deputizedsimple
-
had deputizedperfect
-
was deputizingprogressive
-
were deputizingprogressive
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had been deputizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of deputize
Explanation
To deputize is to appoint someone as a substitute, like a police deputy authorizing a civilian to make an arrest. The original meaning refers to when a deputy would give some of their power to non-police officers. When deputized, you took on some of the power of a deputy to help the real deputy. Similarly, deputizing can refer to making anyone a substitute. A teacher can deputize a student by putting them in charge of the class. A boss can deputize an employee by asking them to organize a meeting. Deputizing empowers someone to do a job.
Vocabulary lists containing deputize
March: Book Three
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Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom
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Zeitoun
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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 remains eighth in the line of succession and could, theoretically, be one of the royal clan called to deputize for the monarch if he fell seriously sick.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
As ByteDance throws every weapon it can against the bill, a key element of its strategy has emerged: deputize its army of TikTok “creators” to become informal lobbyists, asking them to plead the company’s case.
From Slate ● Mar. 18, 2024
The pangrams from yesterday’s Spelling Bee were deputize and deputized.
From New York Times ● Mar. 16, 2023
When agents met up with Girardi after the meeting, she recalled, “they asked me to raise my right hand because they wanted to deputize me because I did so well.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2023
When the last war come, the last war deputize them boy and take 'em way up North and the gals follow, trail 'em on to New York.
From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves South Carolina Narratives, Part 2 by Work Projects Administration
The Bank Secrecy Act, enacted in 1970, essentially deputizes banks to act as the first line of defense against money laundering.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025
The Pulitzer Prize winner even deputizes her on-page doppelgänger to hire her protagonist at an unnamed Minneapolis bookstore that sounds a lot like the one Erdrich owns in real life.
From New York Times ● Nov. 24, 2021
Assistant Dino Toppmöller deputizes on the touchline and said Nagelsmann is closely involved with the tactics.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 23, 2021
Wade, also deputizes private citizens to sue offenders for at least $10,000.
From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2021
This leader has an assistant or lieutenant to whom he deputizes great power.
From Quiet Talks on the Crowned Christ of Revelation by S. D. (Samuel Dickey) Gordon
In Sophocles, Antigone, Oedipus’ headstrong daughter, defies the edict issued by her uncle Creon, the newly deputized king, declaring that her slain brother Polynices is an enemy of the state and therefore ineligible for burial.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
It is a deputized state law enforcement agency of nearly 80 individuals tasked with preventing theft by checking that brands match their registered owners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 24, 2025
The Federal Aviation Administration, which for decades has deputized Boeing employees to sign off on some safety matters on the agency’s behalf, has forced it to limit production.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 16, 2024
The defense has rarely, if ever, directly countered any of the accusations from the prosecution—i.e., that SBF personally deputized his lieutenants to do various crimes like defrauding customers and investors.
From Slate ● Oct. 25, 2023
They were thugs and riffraff, deputized at the whim of industrial corporations in the valley.
From "Fannie Never Flinched" by Mary Cronk Farrell
Houser went on to explain that there are a few different permutations of deputization the administration could pursue, including deputizing National Guard troops or local law enforcement before they start using private contractors.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2025
Steph Catley, deputizing for Kerr as Matildas captain, summed up the loss to Nigeria succinctly: “This was a massive opportunity for us that we’ve obviously let slide.”
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 27, 2023
As she recovered from a fall, my fiercely independent mother-in-law apologized to her children for deputizing them with the task of cleaning out the family home.
From New York Times ● Apr. 9, 2022
For years, the FAA has relied on Boeing employees to certify the airworthiness of planes by deputizing some company employees to act on behalf of the agency.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 15, 2022
Now and then he made half a sovereign extra by deputizing on the organ.
From The Matador of the Five Towns and Other Stories by Arnold Bennett
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
