relegate

verb

rel·​e·​gate ˈre-lə-ˌgāt How to pronounce relegate (audio)
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 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.

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Brazilian Grand Prix, in particular, was eventful with Norris taking a victory in the sprint race and Verstappen receiving a 5-second penalty, relegating him from P3 to P4 behind Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc, in that order. David Faris, Newsweek, 2 Nov. 2024 Many Republicans expect that Johnson wouldn’t be elected to leadership if the GOP is relegated to the House minority. Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 1 Nov. 2024 The Penguin's Falcone is every bit the misogynistic brute, but his actions are relegated to the off-screen imagination by being implied, rather than shown. Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 24 Oct. 2024 Anime and manga, which now populates about half the floor, was once relegated to only a small area. Marc Berman, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for relegate 

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of relegate was in 1599

Dictionary Entries Near relegate

Cite this Entry

“Relegate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/relegate. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

relegate

verb
rel·​e·​gate ˈrel-ə-ˌgāt How to pronounce relegate (audio)
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 noun

More from Merriam-Webster on relegate

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!