delegate
Americannoun
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a person designated to act for or represent another or others; deputy; representative, as in a political convention.
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(formerly) the representative of a Territory in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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a member of the lower house of the state legislature of Maryland, Virginia, or West Virginia.
noun
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a person chosen or elected to act for or represent another or others, esp at a conference or meeting
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government a representative of a territory in the US House of Representatives
verb
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to give or commit (duties, powers, etc) to another as agent or representative; depute
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(tr) to send, authorize, or elect (a person) as agent or representative
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(tr) to assign (a person owing a debt to oneself) to one's creditor in substitution for oneself
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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redelegateverb (used with object)
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predelegatenoun
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subdelegatenoun
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nondelegatenoun
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undelegatedadjective
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delegableadjective
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delegatornoun
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delegateenoun
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subdelegateverb (used with object)
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has delegatedperfect 3rd person singular
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have delegatedperfect
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is delegatingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are delegatingprogressive
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am delegatingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been delegatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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delegatingparticiple
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have been delegatingperfect progressive
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delegatessingular 3rd person
Past
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had delegatedperfect
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was delegatingprogressive singular
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were delegatingprogressive plural
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had been delegatingperfect progressive
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delegatedparticiple
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delegatedsimple
Future
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”; see 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.
Vocabulary lists containing delegate
The Bill of Rights
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List 4
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U.S. Government Lingo
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Hegseth only discussed Taiwan once on Saturday, when a delegate asked whether U.S. military operations against Iran would affect Washington’s arms sales to Taipei.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026
Orozco Romero called the DCCC’s decision to back Bains “stupid and morally not OK,” especially since neither of the candidates earned enough delegate support to win the state party endorsement earlier this year.
From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026
He will be assisted by army chief of staff Gen Oumar Diarra, who has been appointed minister delegate.
From BBC • May 4, 2026
"People are going to lose their jobs...How are you trying to re-engage them in other sectors?" said the delegate from one of Africa's biggest oil and gas producers.
From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026
I met with student representatives to the delegate assembly and tried getting everyone involved in promoting school spirit.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
