relegate
verb
rel·e·gate
ˈre-lə-ˌgāt 
relegated; relegating
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
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.
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
Ramsey finished the final three games of the 2024-25 season as Cardiff’s interim manager after it was relegated from England’s League Championship to third-tier League One.
—
Jason Ma, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2025
The bad news for Forest is that 14 of those 20 teams ended up being relegated, of which six finished bottom.
—Nick Miller, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
The storyteller role has frequently been a role relegated to gay men, who, with their elevated taste levels and cultural cachet, are often celebrated for their peerless ability to entertain.
—Michael Cuby, Them., 24 Oct. 2025
Once Wilson returned, Fields was relegated to a backup role.
—Matthew Schmidt, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for relegate
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Jason Ma, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2025
The bad news for Forest is that 14 of those 20 teams ended up being relegated, of which six finished bottom.
—Nick Miller, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
The storyteller role has frequently been a role relegated to gay men, who, with their elevated taste levels and cultural cachet, are often celebrated for their peerless ability to entertain.
—Michael Cuby, Them., 24 Oct. 2025
Once Wilson returned, Fields was relegated to a backup role.
—Matthew Schmidt, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for relegate
Cite this Entry
“Relegate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/relegate. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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