delegate

Noun

delegate (plural delegates)

1. A person authorized to act as representative for another; a deputy.
2. A representative at a conference, etc.
3. (US) An appointed representative in some legislative bodies.
4. A type of variable storing a reference to a method with a particular signature, analogous to a function pointer.
   • Historically, all viable frameworks have always provided a mechanism to implement callbacks. C# goes one step further and encapsulates callbacks into callable objects called delegates.2010, Trey Nash, Accelerated C# 2010, page xxvi
5. A member of a governmental legislature who lacks voting power.
   • The house of delegates in apartheid-era South Africa lacked any real voting power.

Verb

UK/ˈdɛlɪˌɡeɪt/US/ˈdɛlɪˌɡeɪt/

delegate (third-person singular simple present delegates, present participle delegating, simple past and past participle delegated)

1. (intransitive) To commit tasks and responsibilities to others, especially subordinates.
   • New Zealand Prime Minister John Key was perceived to delegate effectively. Wayne Mapp, a minister under Key observed he had 'a different style than the traditional style of New Zealand political management. He delegates in the manner of a chief executive, and lets ministers get on with their jobs'...2020, Jennifer Lees-Marshment, Political Management: The Dance of Government and Politics
2. (transitive) To commit (a task or responsibility) to someone, especially a subordinate.
   • The war on Covid-19 was delegated to the health secretary, Matt Hancock, a paralysed NHS and scientists publicly feuding over dud data.2020 July 20, Simon Jenkins, “Britain deserves better than an Old Etonian Donald Trump”, in The Guardian

   Synonyms:

   turn over

3. (transitive) To appoint (someone) as one's representative.
4. (Internet, transitive) (of a subdomain) To give away authority over a subdomain; to allow someone else to create sub-subdomains of a subdomain of one's own.

Adjective

delegate (not comparable)

1. (obsolete, participle, past) delegated
2. (adjective, obsolete) Acting as a delegate, delegated; of, pertaining to a delegate

Proper noun capitalized: Delegate

Delegate

1. A locality in the Snowy Monaro council area, south eastern New South Wales, Australia.