delegate
Americannoun
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a person designated to act for or represent another or others; deputy; representative, as in a political convention.
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(formerly) the representative of a Territory in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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a member of the lower house of the state legislature of Maryland, Virginia, or West Virginia.
noun
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a person chosen or elected to act for or represent another or others, esp at a conference or meeting
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government a representative of a territory in the US House of Representatives
verb
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to give or commit (duties, powers, etc) to another as agent or representative; depute
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(tr) to send, authorize, or elect (a person) as agent or representative
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(tr) to assign (a person owing a debt to oneself) to one's creditor in substitution for oneself
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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delegateenoun
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delegatornoun
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nondelegatenoun
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predelegatenoun
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subdelegatenoun
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redelegateverb (used with object)
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subdelegateverb (used with object)
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delegableadjective
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undelegatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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delegatesimple
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delegatessimple
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have delegatedperfect
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has delegatedperfect
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am delegatingprogressive
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are delegatingprogressive
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is delegatingprogressive
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have been delegatingperfect progressive
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has been delegatingperfect progressive
Past
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delegatedsimple
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had delegatedperfect
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was delegatingprogressive
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were delegatingprogressive
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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
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List 4
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U.S. Government Lingo
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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:
Francisco Martin, a government delegate in Madrid, described the fires as "undoubtedly the largest fire in the history of the Madrid region".
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
As AI begins building AI, the country that trusts its models most can delegate the most and compound the fastest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Hundreds of kilometres away, the new Valencia fire was proving "very intense", Pilar Bernabe, the central government delegate to Valencia wrote on X.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
They choose to spend their time where they create the greatest value and delegate.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026
I wanted to kick myself for not remembering that he was the other room 81 delegate.
From "Liar, Liar" by Gary Paulsen
In December, Motsepe attended the ANC's national general council meeting, where some delegates wore T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "PM27" -- a reference to a possible presidential bid in 2027.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
The Jackson campaign, for example, has rolled out slates of delegates who promise to vote for Jackson at the convention in all of Maine’s counties.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
And while people who hadn’t registered with a party could vote in the primary that chose Platner, only registered Democrats can vote for or serve as delegates to replace him.
From Slate ● Jul. 16, 2026
After a six-week standoff, the Bundist delegates walked out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Despite Anthony’s speech, the delegates voted in favor of censure, 53 to 41.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
In his third term, Xi has delegated some responsibilities to a small group of loyalists who are in their late 60s and early 70s—considered too old to be viable successors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
Lunetta pointed out that hospitals "have repetitive tasks" which "could be delegated to a good robot".
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026
Rather than saddle an existing agency with additional duties, Congress delegated rulemaking and enforcement power to a private corporation known as the Horseracing Authority.
From Slate ● Jun. 12, 2026
“I don’t see where Harmeet Dhillon has the experience or the normal level of authority that this would be delegated to,” the official said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
The PAC had launched its own propaganda campaign and I was delegated to make our case wherever possible.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Similarly to that crawl, L.A.’s will feature a passport system, which involves delegating stamps for every purchase of $10 or more at each stop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
These set out guidance on what states can do to enhance credibility and improve transparency, including by delegating investigations to a third party if necessary.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
"Our historical experience has taught us that delegating vital matters... to international judicial bodies has been detrimental to our sovereignty and our territorial integrity," he said.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
People can tell the difference between making a decision and delegating it to a system.
From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026
He was delegating the red rubber bands to Laney when his mom called to him from the kitchen.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
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.
