relegate

verb

rel·​e·​gate ˈre-lə-ˌgāt 

relegated; relegating

transitive verb

1

: to send into exile : banish

2

: assign: such as

a

: to assign to a place of insignificance or of oblivion : put out of sight or mind

b

: to assign to an appropriate place or situation on the basis of classification or appraisal

c

: to submit to someone or something for appropriate action : delegate

d

: to transfer (a sports team) to a lower ranking division

relegation

ˌre-lə-ˈgā-shən 

noun

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.

Synonyms

• banish
• deport
• displace
• exile
• expatriate
• transport

Choose the Right Synonym for relegate

commit, entrust, confide, consign, relegate mean to assign to a person or place for a definite purpose.

commit may express the general idea of delivering into another's charge or the special sense of transferring to a superior power or to a special place of custody.

committed the felon to prison

entrust implies committing with trust and confidence.

the president is entrusted with broad powers

confide implies entrusting with great assurance or reliance.

confided complete control of my affairs to my attorney

consign suggests removing from one's control with formality or finality.

consigned the damaging notes to the fire

relegate implies a consigning to a particular class or sphere often with a suggestion of getting rid of.

relegated to an obscure position in the company

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 on the Web

Proust Barbie’s role is essentially relegated to an unspeaking background player in select scenes throughout the film. —Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 11 Apr. 2024

That’s why there’s still something alluring about visiting one of these bars for the first time, trying to figure out where a door is hidden and whether you’ll be granted entrance or be relegated to a wait list. —Fritz Hahn, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2024

Such occurrences aren’t relegated to the distant past. —Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 18 Mar. 2024

Some are no longer allowed to patrol or interact with the public — relegated to administrative duties instead. —Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024

By the movie’s end, viewers aren’t allowed to comfortably relegate the dictator’s power-grabbing wrongs to history. —Valerie Trapp, The Atlantic, 9 Mar. 2024

Company executives allegedly relegated people of color working overseas in their factories to stockroom jobs. —Esme Mazzeo, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024

Touts, the yelling men who would give out 1-900 numbers promising to tell you the right side to bet on in the Dolphins-Bills game, were once relegated to late-night commercials. —Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2024

As such, some tactics may be relegated to discretionary unilateral action. —Alden Abbott, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin relegatus, past participle of relegare, from re- + legare to send with a commission — more at legate

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

relegate

verb

rel·​e·​gate ˈrel-ə-ˌgāt 

relegated; relegating

1

: to remove or dismiss to a less important place

relegate some old books to the attic

2

: to refer or hand over for decision or carrying out

relegate that matter to a special committee

relegation

ˌrel-ə-ˈgā-shən 

noun