relegate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to send or consign to an inferior position, place, or condition.
He has been relegated to a post at the fringes of the diplomatic service.
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to consign or commit (a matter, task, etc.), as to a person.
He relegates the less pleasant tasks to his assistant.
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to assign or refer (something) to a particular class or kind.
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to send into exile; banish.
verb
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to move to a position of less authority, importance, etc; demote
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(usually passive) to demote (a football team, etc) to a lower division
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to assign or refer (a matter) to another or others, as for action or decision
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(foll by to) to banish or exile
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to assign (something) to a particular group or category
Other Word Forms
- relegable adjective
- relegatable adjective
- relegation noun
- unrelegable adjective
Etymology
Origin of relegate
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English from Latin relēgātus, past participle of relēgāre “to send away, dispatch”; re-, legate
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.
They are just playing for pride now, which is a terrible position to be in for any footballer, but at least they are showing a bit of fight despite basically being relegated already.
From BBC
Since then, both clubs have been relegated to and returned from the Championship - and this term both are chasing European glory.
From BBC
He was also at the helm when Saracens were relegated for financial irregularities, spending the 2020-21 season in the second division and leading them straight back to the Premiership.
From Barron's
But even the best film music has often been relegated to “pops” and summertime concerts, with a tacit judgment among symphony orchestras that it should only ever be paired with children and picnic blankets.
From Los Angeles Times
He didn’t like gunfire and so was relegated to a small dog run, open to the elements, where he slept in a barrel filled with straw.
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.
