What does delegate mean?
Word: Delegate
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Delegate means a person chosen to speak or vote for a group, especially at a meeting or conference. As a verb, to delegate is to give part of your work to someone else.
Synonyms: envoy, deputy
How do you spell delegate?
Syllables: del - e - gate
Tricky part: The middle vowel is an e, though it is said so weakly that deligate and delagate are common slips.
Watch out for: deligate, delagate, delligate
Memory tip: A delegate is often elected, and both words share e-l-e near the start.
Delegate in a sentence
Example 1: Each school sent one delegate to the district science conference.
Example 2: Mum had to delegate the cooking to my brother on her busy office days.
Example 3: Delegates from twenty countries met in Geneva to discuss climate change.
Fun Fact
At the United Nations General Assembly every member country sends delegates, yet each country has just one vote, however large or small it is.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word:
delegate
a) representative
b) visitor
c) opponent
d) spectator
Show answer
a) representative. A delegate speaks and votes for a group, which is exactly what a representative does.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
adgteele
a) relegate
b) delegate
c) deflate
d) delete
Show answer
b) delegate. Three e's and a single l suit only delegate: relegate would want an r, deflate an f, and delete is two letters short.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
deleg_t_
a) e, e
b) a, e
c) i, e
d) a, i
Show answer
b) a, e. The word closes with the same four letters as the gate of a school.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) delegate
b) minister
c) conferance
d) committee
Show answer
c) conferance. Conference comes from confer, so it has er in the middle, not ar.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. When our class monitor delegates jobs for Sports Day, she ____.
a) shares them out among classmates
b) asks the teacher to cancel them
c) writes them down in her diary
d) does every single job on her own
Show answer
a) shares them out among classmates
2. A captain who never delegates ____.
a) lets the coach pick the team
b) misses every practice match
c) tries to do every task alone
d) asks others to lead the warm-up
Show answer
c) tries to do every task alone
