relegate

verb rel·e·gate \ ˈre-lə-ˌgāt \

Updated on: 15 May 2018

Definition of relegate

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

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relegation

play \ˌre-lə-ˈgā-shən\ noun

See relegate defined for English-language learners

See relegate defined for kids

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

Hamburger SV was finally relegated from the Bundesliga amid chaotic scenes on Saturday.

— ciaran fahey, chicagotribune.com, "Bundesliga Recap: Hamburg suffer first-ever relegation amid fan chaos," 12 May 2018
The whole social gracelessness of the back-and-forth evoked, for me, the dynamic that had played out in The Handmaid’s Tale, in which the wives are relegated to the social fringes of important gatherings.

— monica lewinsky, Vanities, "Monica Lewinsky: What We All Can Learn from My Disinvitation Debacle," 11 May 2018
In the early years, Rachel was relegated to paralegal work after failing to pass the LSATs.

— kate stanhope, latimes.com, "Meghan Markle's rise to Hollywood stardom," 10 May 2018
Dutch giants Ajax have emerged as a potential suitor to Southampton ace Dusan Tadic, should the Saints be relegated at the end of the season.

— SI.com, "Dutch Giants Ajax to Make Move for Southampton Ace Should the Saints be Relegated," 8 May 2018
Previously, Vevo’s own sales force had first dibs on the videos, relegating Google to automated, remnant ad sales.

— peter kafka, Recode, "YouTube is using a new deal with Vevo, the music labels’ video venture, to boost ad sales," 7 May 2018
Sellers wasn’t initially listed among the elites when the pro fields were announced by the B.A.A. in January, and could very easily have been relegated to start with the masses.

— martin fritz huber, Outside Online, "The Boston Marathon Stands Up for Sub-Elite Women," 4 May 2018
Speaking in a previous interview about the three finalists, Kuri said the selection appears to have avoided relegating local designers to minor roles - always a sore point in the local design community.

— steven litt, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Public Library to unveil 3 competing designs for MLK Jr. Branch on May 10," 4 May 2018
Sharpe may end up relegated to last place on this blustery Saturday evening in March at the Chicago Pinball League.

— ryan smith, Chicago Reader, "The First Family of pinball: Meet the local wizards behind the game's huge resurgence," 3 May 2018

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1599

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

relegate Synonyms

Synonyms

assort, break down, categorize, class, classify, codify, compartment, compartmentalize, digest, distinguish, distribute, grade, group, peg, place, range, rank, separate, sort, type;

Near Antonyms

confuse, disarrange, jumble, lump, mix (up), scramble;

misclassify, missort, mistype;

alphabetize, catalog (or catalogue), file, index, list, refer;

pigeonhole, shelve;

identify, recognize;

cull, screen, set, sieve, sift, winnow;

clump, cluster;

recategorize, reclassify, regroup;

subcategorize;

Synonym Discussion of 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

RELEGATE Defined for English Language Learners

relegate

verb

Definition 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