v-4
B2Formal to neutral; common in business, management, political, and organizational contexts.
Definition
Meaning
To entrust a task, responsibility, or authority to another person.
To assign specific duties or decision-making power to someone, typically within an organizational hierarchy; also refers to a person chosen to represent others, as in a conference or political assembly.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The verb focuses on the act of transferring responsibility. The noun refers to the person who receives that responsibility or represents a group.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Usage is largely identical. The stress pattern in the verb form is occasionally noted: UK /ˈdɛlɪɡeɪt/ may slightly favour first syllable stress, while US /ˈdɛləˌɡeɪt/ may have a more even stress, but this is not a strict rule.
Connotations
In both, implies trust and structured hierarchy. No significant difference in connotation.
Frequency
Slightly more frequent in American corporate/business jargon.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
delegate sth to sbdelegate sb to do sthbe delegated to sb/sthVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Delegate or die”
- “The art of delegation”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Crucial for effective management; failing to delegate can create bottlenecks.
Academic
Used in political science (delegated authority), management studies, and public administration.
Everyday
Used when discussing sharing chores or responsibilities in a group.
Technical
In computing, can refer to delegating a method call or task to another object/process.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The senior partner decided to delegate the client correspondence to her associate.
- You must learn to delegate if you want the project to stay on schedule.
American English
- The manager delegated budget oversight to the new team lead.
- She delegated the planning committee to choose the venue.
adverb
British English
- No direct adverb form. Use phrases like 'by delegation' or 'through delegating'.
- The work was distributed delegatively across the department. (Rare/neologism)
American English
- Same as British. The form 'delegatively' is non-standard and rare.
adjective
British English
- Not commonly used as a pure adjective. 'Delegated authority' functions as a participial adjective.
- The delegated tasks were clearly listed in the memo.
American English
- Same as British. 'Delegated powers' is a standard phrase in governance.
- He worked with his delegated team on the proposal.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- I can't do everything myself. I need to delegate some work.
- She is the delegate from our class for the school council.
- A good leader knows how to delegate tasks effectively to their team.
- The company sent three delegates to the international conference.
- The director delegated the authority to approve expenses to her deputy.
- As a union delegate, her role was to represent the workers' interests in negotiations.
- The principle of subsidiarity holds that decisions should be delegated to the most local competent authority.
- He was delegated to mediate the dispute between the two departments.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
DELEGATE sounds like 'let them take it' – you LET someone take the responsibility.
Conceptual Metaphor
AUTHORITY IS A COMMODITY THAT CAN BE TRANSFERRED.
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- False friend with 'делигат' (which is a borrowing, but less common). More common Russian equivalents are 'перепоручать' (verb) or 'представитель' (noun).
- Confusing verb/noun stress patterns (like in 'record').
Common Mistakes
- Pronouncing the noun like the verb (e.g., saying /ˈdɛlɪɡeɪt/ for a person).
- Using incorrect preposition: 'delegate someone for a task' (incorrect) vs. 'delegate a task to someone' (correct).
- Spelling: 'delagate' or 'deleagte'.
Practice
Quiz
What is the primary risk of a manager's failure to delegate?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
'Delegate' specifically implies entrusting with authority or responsibility, often within a chain of command. 'Assign' is broader and can mean simply giving a task without the connotation of transferred authority.
Typically no. The verb 'delegate' requires an agent (a person or group) to carry out the task. You delegate *to* someone.
This is a common informal structure, but purists prefer the prepositional form: 'I delegated the task to him.' The double-object construction ('delegate him the task') is considered less standard.
Think of the verb as ending like 'gate' (/ɡeɪt/ - to DO the action). The noun ends like 'it' (/ɡət/ - the person who IS it).