What does delegating mean?
Delegating is the present participle of the verb delegate, meaning to entrust a task, duty, or authority to another person, most often a subordinate or colleague. In modern usage it appears overwhelmingly in workplace and organizational contexts: a manager might be described as delegating responsibilities to her team, or a committee as delegating decisions to a subcommittee. The word carries broadly positive connotations in management thinking, where effective delegating is treated as a hallmark of good leadership rather than an abdication of effort, though critics may use it to suggest passing off unwanted work. A secondary sense involves appointing or sending someone as an official representative, as when a nation delegates envoys to a summit. Derived from Latin delegare, meaning to dispatch or assign, the word entered English via French and remains central to discussions of teamwork, leadership, and distributed authority across British and American English alike.
verbThe present participle of delegate: to entrust a task, duty, or authority to another person, typically someone in a subordinate position.
- To entrust a task, duty, or power to another person, especially a subordinate.
- To send or appoint someone as an authorized representative (e.g. a delegate to a conference).
"Good managers know that delegating effectively frees them to focus on strategic decisions."
"She spent the afternoon delegating responsibilities to her team so she could prepare for the board meeting."
"By delegating routine paperwork to an assistant, the director freed up hours each week for creative work."
The word 'delegate' comes from the same Latin root that gives us a legate — a papal envoy — so every time you delegate a task, you're sending a personal representative.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of delegating
Delegating derives from the verb delegate, which English adopted from the past participle of Latin delegare, formed from de- ('from, away') plus legare ('to send with a commission, appoint'), the same root behind the noun legate, an envoy or representative. The word entered English in the early modern period, around the late sixteenth century, initially in contexts of sending representatives and later broadening to the transfer of tasks or authority. Its cognates include delegation, delegacy, and the ecclesiastical and diplomatic term legate.
Related word forms
How delegating is actually used
Delegating carries largely neutral to positive connotations in management contexts, where it is regarded as a mark of effective leadership; it can, however, imply shirking work if used critically (e.g. 'he just delegates everything'). Common in business and organizational registers; less common in casual everyday speech, where phrases like 'handing off' may be used instead.
Easily confused with delegating
To relegate means to demote or consign something to a lower or less important position, whereas to delegate means to entrust a task or authority to someone else.