delegate

American  

[del-i-git, -geyt, del-i-geyt] / ˈdɛl ɪ gɪt, -ˌgeɪt, ˈdɛl ɪˌgeɪt /

noun

1. a person designated to act for or represent another or others; deputy; representative, as in a political convention.

2. (formerly) the representative of a Territory in the U.S. House of Representatives.

3. a member of the lower house of the state legislature of Maryland, Virginia, or West Virginia.

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verb (used with object)

delegated, delegating

1. to send or appoint (a person) as deputy or representative.

2. to commit (powers, functions, etc.) to another as agent or deputy.

   Synonyms:

   transfer, assign, entrust

delegate British  

/ ˈdɛlɪɡəbəl /

noun

1. a person chosen or elected to act for or represent another or others, esp at a conference or meeting

2. government a representative of a territory in the US House of Representatives

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verb

1. to give or commit (duties, powers, etc) to another as agent or representative; depute

2. (tr) to send, authorize, or elect (a person) as agent or representative

3. (tr) to assign (a person owing a debt to oneself) to one's creditor in substitution for oneself

Other Word Forms

• delegable adjective
• delegatee noun
• delegator noun
• nondelegate noun
• predelegate noun
• redelegate verb (used with object)
• subdelegate noun
• undelegated adjective

Etymology

Origin of delegate

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English (past participle) delegat, from Medieval Latin dēlēgātus, noun use of past participle of dēlēgāre “to assign,” equivalent to dē- de- + lēgātus “deputed”; legate

Explanation

Delegate lends an official air to passing off your work. If you don't like cleaning the bathroom, you can try to delegate that task to your little brother. A delegate is also an elected official, or the person who is doing the task you delegated them to do. In presidential primaries in the United States, you do not vote for a candidate, you vote for a delegate whose job it is to vote for that candidate at a convention. Be careful with how you pronounce the end of the word. The elected official is pronounced DE-lə-git whereas delegate as a verb should be DE-lə-gāt.

Example Sentences

The high courts often delegate some authority to the state bar or involve the bar in the process.

From Slate • Apr. 10, 2026

"If there is safe passage, what are the terms and the conditions for such safe passage?" the South Pacific islands' delegate asked.

From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026

Claws are autonomous agents and can plan and execute tasks on their own, and, critically, spin up their own subagents to tackle specialized tasks, access files and themselves delegate tasks to other subagents.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

With multiple candidates seeking the endorsement, it may be hard for any single one to reach the 60% threshold of delegate votes needed.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 21, 2026

It was a foregone conclusion that Washington would be called out of retirement to head the force, but equally predictable that the aging general would delegate actual command to his former aide-de-camp.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

• commissioner
• deputy
• envoy
• member
• minister
• nominee
• senator