verb / noun
delegate
DEL-uh-gayt/dˈɛlʌɡˌeɪt/
To entrust another person with authority to act.
The manager delegates hiring decisions to her experienced team leaders.
Etymology
“Send away with a commission” describes appointing someone to act as a representative. Assigning responsibility or authority preserves that central idea: empowering another person to act on your behalf.
In context
willingness of boards to delegate to smaller groups the accountability and authority to make decisions so some decisions that a board used to want to make on its own now it's delegated to officers
More examples
- You can delegate tasks without giving up overall responsibility.
- The board delegated authority to approve repairs to its chair.
- Each union delegate votes on behalf of local members.
Forms
delegate · delegates · delegated · delegating
delegation noun — The act of assigning responsibility or authority.
Similar words
- entrust
- Emphasizes placing something in someone's care, not necessarily granting authority.
- authorize
- Emphasizes granting permission rather than handing over responsibility.
- representative
- Names someone acting for others, without necessarily being formally selected.