demoted; demoting
1
: to reduce to a lower grade or rank
demote a student
was demoted from major to captain
2
: to relegate to a less important position
a pitcher demoted to the bullpen
Examples of demote in a Sentence
Teachers can choose to demote a student to a lower grade.
The army major was demoted to captain.
Recent Examples on the Web
While the case garnered global acclaim, Captain Terauchi was demoted to a desk job for ’embarrassing’ the airline, only to be reinstated later.
—
Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2025
The Royals will need to decide which player will be demoted to make room.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 1 Sep. 2025
Gomber is no longer with the team, Feltner hasn’t pitched since late April, Senzatela was demoted to the bullpen this week, and Black was fired on May 11 after the Rockies opened the season 7-33.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 31 Aug. 2025
More Photo by David Berding/Getty Images White, who was recently demoted to the second team for the Patriots, would be a very intriguing target for Chicago.
—Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demote
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2025
The Royals will need to decide which player will be demoted to make room.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 1 Sep. 2025
Gomber is no longer with the team, Feltner hasn’t pitched since late April, Senzatela was demoted to the bullpen this week, and Black was fired on May 11 after the Rockies opened the season 7-33.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 31 Aug. 2025
More Photo by David Berding/Getty Images White, who was recently demoted to the second team for the Patriots, would be a very intriguing target for Chicago.
—Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demote
Cite this Entry
“Demote.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demote. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share