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Meaning & use

delegation

noun·Academic

Last updated

UK/ˌdelɪˈɡeɪʃn/
US/ˌdelɪˈɡeɪʃn/

Meanings

  1. noununcountable

    the act of giving someone else the authority or responsibility to do something, often a task or decision

    Grammar: Used as an uncountable noun when talking about the process. For example, 'Delegation is essential for good management.'

    Patterns

    • delegation of something to someone
    • the delegation of authority
    • delegation of responsibility

    Effective delegation allows managers to focus on more important tasks.

    The delegation of decision-making to local teams improved efficiency.

    She is very good at delegation; she trusts her staff to handle details.

  2. nouncountable

    a group of people chosen to represent an organization or country at a meeting or event

    Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a delegation' or 'delegations'. Often followed by 'from' or 'to'.

    Patterns

    • a delegation from somewhere
    • lead a delegation
    • send a delegation to a place

    A trade delegation from China visited the factory last week.

    The school sent a delegation of students to the model United Nations conference.

    The peace talks were attended by delegations from over twenty countries.

Word forms

pluraldelegations

Common combinations

effective delegation
Effective delegation requires clear instructions and trust.
delegation of authority
The delegation of authority to regional managers was part of the restructuring.
a delegation from
A delegation from the university attended the international conference.
lead a delegation
She was chosen to lead the delegation to the climate summit.
send a delegation
The government decided to send a delegation to negotiate the trade deal.

Synonyms and how they differ

assignment
Focuses on giving a task, while 'delegation' emphasizes giving authority and responsibility to someone else.
deputation
A more formal word for a group representing others; 'delegation' is more common in modern English.

Opposites

centralizationmicromanagement

Word family

delegate verb
to give a task or authority to someone else
delegate noun
a person chosen to represent a group

Commonly confused: delegation or deligation?

delegation vs deligation

'Deligation' is a rare medical term meaning the tying off of a blood vessel; 'delegation' is the common word for assigning tasks or a group of representatives.

Practice

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