delegate
Say it: DEL-ih-gayt /ˈdɛləɡeɪt/ · verb
What “delegate” means
Give someone else a task or responsibility.
More precisely: To give a task or responsibility to someone else, usually more junior.
Example: “Learning to delegate freed up ten hours of her week.”
When to use it
At work, when passing a task to another person who can carry it out. It is common management language.
Similar words
assign, entrust, hand over
Where it comes from
From Latin delegare, "to send away, assign."
Quick check
A team leader asks a colleague to organise the event catering instead of handling it personally. What does the leader do?
abdicate or delegate?
Show the answer
delegate
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