delegate

noun del·e·gate \ ˈde-li-gət , -ˌgāt \

Definition of delegate

:a person acting for another: such as

a :a representative to a convention or conference

U.N. delegates from African nations

The nominee netted a handful of delegates in the state's caucus.

b government :a representative of a U.S. territory in the House of Representatives

c government :a member of the lower house of the legislature of Maryland, Virginia, or West Virginia

See delegate defined for English-language learners

See delegate defined for kids

delegate was our Word of the Day on 06/09/2010. Hear the podcast!

Examples of delegate in a Sentence

the U.N. delegates from African countries
He's been chosen as a delegate to the convention.

Recent Examples of delegate from the Web

Facilitated by former Maryland delegate Sue Kullen.

— Washington Post, "Community events in Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties," 30 Aug. 2017
Photo provided to the Miami Herald Benjamin Arnold, Hannah Baron, Tyler McCray and Sara Ramos of Palmer Trinity School were selected as delegates for the 2018 Young Round Square Global Conference in India, Jan. 24 – 30.

— adrianne richardson, miamiherald, "Miami Supersonics jump-rope team member breaks four-year national record," 29 Aug. 2017
Nomiki Konst, a former Sanders delegate to the Democratic National convention and a member of the DNC unity reform commission, said in an interview.

— clare foran, The Atlantic, "What Joe Manchin Can Teach Democrats," 26 Aug. 2017
Last year the district failed to push a similar resolution through the delegate assembly.

— suzanne baker, Naperville Sun, "Local districts shoring up message as they push for legislation," 24 Aug. 2017
The delegates booed loudly and rejected the measure in a voice vote while the convention chairman ignored the crowd and declared that the measure had passed.

— jonathan s. tobin, National Review, "Democrats Who Want to Be President Back Away from Israel," 7 Aug. 2017
Delegates are working to establish the framework for a code of conduct in the South China Sea that would reaffirm respect for the freedom of navigation and overflight, and outline how to arbitrate disputes.

— carol morello, chicagotribune.com, "China urges North Korea to be 'smart' and drop its missile tests," 6 Aug. 2017
Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District’s nonvoting delegate, and Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) introduced the House version of the legislation last month.

— jenna portnoy, Washington Post, "Sen. Van Hollen sponsors Frederick Douglass bicentennial bill in Senate," 19 July 2017
On a separate and important issue, the delegate points out that the IRS has changed debt collection procedures.

— Laurel Leader, "Bidding adieu to Father Jack Kennealy draws crowd [Montpelier/South Laurel]," 13 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'delegate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of delegate

Middle English delegat, from Medieval Latin delegatus, from Latin, past participle of delegare to delegate, from de- + legare to send — more at legate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

delegate Synonyms

Synonyms

agent, ambassador, emissary, envoy, legate, minister, representative

delegate

verb del·e·gate \ -ˌgāt \

Definition of delegate

delegated; delegating

transitive verb

1 :to entrust to another

delegate authority

delegated the task to her assistant

2 :to appoint as one's representative

intransitive verb

:to assign responsibility or authority

a good manager knows how to delegate

—

delegatee

play \ˌde-li-gə-ˈtē\ noun

—

delegator

play \ˈde-li-ˌgā-tər\ noun

See delegate defined for English-language learners

Examples of delegate in a Sentence

A manager should delegate authority to the best employees.
Those chores can be delegated to someone else.
He doesn't delegate very well.

Recent Examples of delegate from the Web

Delegating mundane chores to robots also leaves more time for seniors to socialize with the people who care about them, and not just for them.

— cynthia matuszek, Smithsonian, "How Robots Could Help the Elderly Age In Their Homes," 29 Aug. 2017
Mayweather often delegates the nitty-gritty of negotiations to his team, including Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions, and Al Haymon, Mayweather’s long-time adviser.

— kieron johnson, Fortune, "Floyd Mayweather Jr.: My Brand Is Bigger Than the Boxing Ring," 25 Aug. 2017
ORC changes are required for allowing county employees to remain in CRS and for delegating the Hamilton County Commissioner’s daily operational authority to the MSD Citizens Board.

— Cincinnati.com, "Column: MSD deal will cost for generations," 9 Aug. 2017
Last month the president delegated decisions on troop levels in Afghanistan to Defense Secretary James Mattis.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Compared Afghanistan Policy Review to 21 Club Renovation: Report," 3 Aug. 2017
Hinckley met first with Superintendent Cheryl Pruitt, whose authority has been delegated to Hinckley.

— carole carlson, Post-Tribune, "Emergency manager, team get down to school business in Gary," 1 Aug. 2017
Smart contracts can make and receive payments, make business decisions, and even delegate tasks to other smart contracts.

— timothy b. lee, Ars Technica, "Using a blockchain doesn’t exempt you from securities regulations," 26 July 2017
FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME PRINT COMMENTS Hundreds are running for officer, board and delegate seats.

— jonathan handel, The Hollywood Reporter, "SAG-AFTRA Candidates Include Celebrities, Dark Horses," 21 July 2017
But there are no such constitutional provisions concerning local governments, which are treated, from a constitutional standpoint, as nothing more than convenient organs to enact powers delegated to them by the states.

— max bloom, National Review, "Let Liberal Cities Do What They Want," 13 July 2017

Did You Know?

To "delegate" is literally or figuratively to send another in one's place, an idea that is reflected in the word’s origin; it is a descendant of Latin legare, meaning "to send as an emissary." Other English words that can be traced back to "legare" include "legate" ("a usually official emissary"), "legacy," "colleague," and "relegate." The noun delegate, meaning "a person acting for another," entered English in the 15th century, followed by the verb in the next century.

Origin and Etymology of delegate

see ¹delegate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1530

See Words from the same year

delegate Synonyms

Synonyms

commission, depute, deputize

Antonyms

hold, keep, retain

Related Words

assign, charge; appoint, designate, name, nominate

Near Antonyms

abrogate; abdicate

DELEGATE Defined for English Language Learners

delegate

noun

Definition of delegate for English Language Learners

: a person who is chosen or elected to vote or act for others

delegate

verb

Definition of delegate for English Language Learners

: to give (control, responsibility, authority, etc.) to someone : to trust someone with (a job, duty, etc.)
: to choose (someone) to do something

DELEGATE Defined for Kids

delegate

noun del·e·gate \ ˈde-li-gət \

Definition of delegate for Students

:a person sent with power to act for another or others

delegate

verb del·e·gate \ ˈde-lə-ˌgāt \

Definition of delegate for Students

delegated; delegating

1 :to entrust to another

The voters delegate power to their elected officials.

2 :to make responsible for getting something done

We were delegated to clean up.

Law Dictionary

delegate

noun del·e·gate \ ˈde-li-gət \

legal Definition of delegate

:a person empowered to act on behalf of another: as

a :a person who is authorized to perform another's duties under a contract

b :a representative to a convention (as of a political party) or conference

c :a representative of a U.S. territory in the House of Representatives

d :a member of the lower house of the legislature of Maryland, Virginia, or West Virginia

Origin and Etymology of delegate

Medieval Latin delegatus, from Latin, past participle of delegare to appoint, put in charge

delegate

verb del·e·gate \ ˈde-li-ˌgāt \

legal Definition of delegate

delegated; delegating

transitive verb

1 :to entrust or transfer (as power, authority, or responsibility) to another: as

a :to transfer (one's contractual duties) to another

b :to empower a body (as an administrative agency) to perform (a governmental function) — see also nondelegation doctrine

2 :to appoint as one's representative

intransitive verb

:to transfer responsibility or authority

Learn More about delegate

See words that rhyme with delegate Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for delegate Spanish Central: Translation of delegate Nglish: Translation of delegate for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of delegate for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about delegate

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up delegate? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

delegate

Definition of delegate

People Are Reading

delegate was our Word of the Day on 06/09/2010. Hear the podcast!

Examples of delegate in a Sentence

Recent Examples of delegate from the Web

Origin and Etymology of delegate

delegate Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

delegate

Definition of delegate

delegatee

delegator

Examples of delegate in a Sentence

Recent Examples of delegate from the Web

Did You Know?

Origin and Etymology of delegate

delegate Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

DELEGATE Defined for English Language Learners

delegate

Definition of delegate for English Language Learners

delegate

Definition of delegate for English Language Learners

DELEGATE Defined for Kids

delegate

Definition of delegate for Students

delegate

Definition of delegate for Students

Law Dictionary

delegate

legal Definition of delegate

Origin and Etymology of delegate

delegate

legal Definition of delegate

Learn More about delegate

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

The Synonyms 'Discover' and 'Invent'

Trending: NY Times: Trump's Call Ignites 'Imbroglio'

The Exceptions Quiz III

17 English Words that Come From Japanese

Words of the Year: 1066