demote

verb

de·mote | \ di-ˈmōt

, ˌdē-\

demoted; demoting

Definition of demote

transitive verb

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

Other Words from demote Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about demote

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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

Controversy burst onto the sliding track earlier during the Pyeongchang Games after Kiriasis balked at being demoted from her position as driving coach. — Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY, "2018 Winter Olympics: 'New' Jamaican bobsled, not new at all; it's the same sled," 19 Feb. 2018 By the 1950s the Garden had been demoted from glamour queen to has-been, the Norma Desmond of hotels. — Lesley M.m. Blume, Town & Country, "Inside Frank Gehry's Overhaul of Garden of Allah, L.A.’s Most Infamous Corner," 25 Feb. 2019 Hamburg, the only ever-present in the league since its formation in 1963, lost at Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 and would have been demoted for the first time had Wolfsburg not fallen in Leipzig 4-1. — Ciaran Fahey, chicagotribune.com, "Bundesliga Recap: Hamburg, Wolfsburg prolong relegation battle to final matchday," 5 May 2018 After getting sidelined and effectively demoted by Chief of Staff John F. Kelly last fall, many advisers might have looked for other jobs. — James Hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: Peter Navarro gets his 15 minutes of fame as the salesman for the Trump tariffs," 6 Mar. 2018 Subotic spent last season on loan at FC Koln, having been demoted to Dortmund's reserve team. — SI.com, "Report: Dortmund Defenders Bartra, Subotic Could Leave Club in January," 17 Jan. 2018 Then an employer who attempts union-busting could be haled into court and face an injunction against demoting or firing union organizers, followed by a trial and possibly heavy damages. — Michael Hiltzik, latimes.com, "Dealt a body blow by the Supreme Court, unions ponder: Where do we go from here?," 28 June 2018 Congress eventually pushed her out of the Interior Department for trying to demote or fire several National Park Service employees and replace them with political appointees. — Jonathan Mahler, New York Times, "How One Conservative Think Tank Is Stocking Trump’s Government," 20 June 2018 Zuercher later fired, demoted or suspended 11 city employees who knew, or should have known, about leaks in the sprinkler system but failed to address the issue. — Jessica Boehm, azcentral, "Phoenix to reopen Burton Barr Library June 16 following flooding disaster," 30 May 2018

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