Definition of relegate
relegated
;relegating
transitive verb
1 : to send into exile : banish
2 : assign: such asa : to assign to a place of insignificance or of oblivion : put out of sight or mindb : to assign to an appropriate place or situation on the basis of classification or appraisalc : to submit to someone or something for appropriate action : delegated : to transfer (a sports team) to a lower ranking division
Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd
Examples of relegate in a Sentence
The bill has been relegated to committee for discussion.
courtiers and generals who incurred the emperor's disfavor were soon relegated to the farther reaches of the empire
Recent Examples of relegate from the Web
-
At the time when her career was rising in the U.S. in the 1930s, public places, including restaurants, nightclubs and theaters, enforced segregated seating areas, relegating blacks to balcony seats.
-
The treatments weakened his body, relegating him to backup duty this season.
-
Her powers set her apart from other humans, but among the other members of the Justice League, she was relegated to secretary.
-
The TSA does not relegate you to choosing between overpriced airport food and otherwise going hungry.
-
But inclement weather doesn't have to relegate you to eating totally indoors, at least, not at these Chicago restaurants.
-
He’s been relegated to a desk job in California and tasked with tracking Iranian immigrants to Los Angeles.
-
As far as weapons go, spears have been militarily outclassed for centuries, relegated to ancient battlefields and modern day track and field.
-
Online Textbook Reader-Online textbooks provide me with the kind of joy most people relegate to memories of childhood vacations or the promise of personal jet packs.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'relegate'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Originally relegate meant "to send into exile, banish". So when you relegate an old sofa to the basement, you're sending it to home-decorating Siberia. When confronted with a matter that no one really wants to face, a chief executive may relegate it to a committee "for further study", which may manage to ignore it for years. It may be annoying to read a newspaper article about a pet project and find that your own contributions have been relegated to a short sentence near the end.
Origin and Etymology of relegate
Latin relegatus, past participle of relegare, from re- + legare to send with a commission — more at legate
Synonym Discussion of relegate
RELEGATE Defined for English Language Learners
relegate
playDefinition of relegate for English Language Learners
-
: to put (someone or something) in a lower or less important position, rank, etc.
-
: to give (something, such as a job or responsibility) to another person or group
-
: to move (a sports team) to a lower position in a league
Learn More about relegate
-
See words that rhyme with relegate Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for relegate Spanish Central: Translation of relegate Nglish: Translation of relegate for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of relegate for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up relegate? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!