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TOEIC Link Part 5: delegate versus relegate

Delegate and relegate both start with the same sound and both involve moving a task or person, but delegate means to hand responsibility to someone, while relegate means to push down to a lower position. Part 5 tests whether the blank means assign or demote.

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TOEIC Link Part 5: delegate versus relegate

Delegate and relegate share a rhyme and both describe moving a task or a person somewhere, yet one is a positive act of trust and the other is a demotion. Delegate is a verb meaning to give a task or authority to someone else (and a noun meaning a representative). Relegate is a verb meaning to move someone or something down to a lower or less important position. Part 5 drops one into a sentence about handing off work or pushing something aside, so it checks whether the blank means assign upward in trust or push down in status. For the wider set of look-alike traps, start with the commonly confused word pairs master index.

The core rule: assign versus demote

  • delegate = to hand a task or authority to another person (verb). The manager will delegate the reporting to her assistant. / Good leaders delegate routine work so they can focus on strategy. It answers who is being trusted with this? Link delegate to assign and entrust: to delegate is to pass responsibility to someone capable.
  • relegate = to move down to a lower or less important position (verb). The old model was relegated to the clearance shelf. / After the merger, the branch was relegated to a support role. It answers what got pushed down? Link relegate to demote and downgrade: to relegate is to send something to a lesser place.

The prefix carries the hook: de- in delegate points outward, as in handing a job out to a colleague, while re- in relegate works with the sense of sending something back or down to a lower spot. If the blank means giving work to a trusted person, it is delegate; if it means pushing something into a lower position, it is relegate.

Why Part 5 likes this pair

Because the two verbs rhyme and both involve movement, only direction and intent separate them. If the blank describes trusting someone with a task or authority, you need delegate. If the blank describes pushing something or someone down to a lesser position, you need relegate.

To meet the deadline, the director decided to __ the data entry to two interns.

A word meaning hand the task to someone needs delegate.

When sales fell, the once-flagship product was __ to a minor listing on the site.

A word meaning pushed down to a lower position needs relegate.

Spotting the clue

Decide whether the blank is an entrust word or a demote word:

  • Does the blank describe giving a task or power to another person? → choose delegate (delegate the work, delegate authority, learn to delegate).
  • Does the blank describe moving something down in importance? → choose relegate (relegate to the archive, relegated to second place, relegate to a footnote).

A quick test: can you replace the blank with assign or entrust, as in assign the reporting? Then it is delegate. Can you replace it with demote or downgrade, as in demoted to the clearance shelf? Then it is relegate. Watch the fixed phrases: delegate appears in delegate the task, delegate authority, and delegate responsibility, while relegate appears in relegate to the background, relegated to a support role, and relegate to the sidelines. Because both are action verbs that mix up test-takers, this pair sits alongside the other traps in the sound-alike verb pairs study guide.

Common Part 5 patterns

  • Anything about handing work or power to a person wants delegate: delegate the project, delegate authority, delegate to a team member, willing to delegate.
  • Anything about pushing down in status wants relegate: relegate to storage, relegated to a minor role, relegate to the footnotes, relegated to second division.
  • Grammar cue: trusting someone with a task leans delegate; moving something to a lower position leans relegate.

If the blank means hand off to someone you trust, choose delegate. If it means push down to a lesser place, choose relegate.

Quick recap

  • Delegate = to give a task or authority to someone else (verb) — you delegate work to a capable colleague.
  • Relegate = to move down to a lower or less important position (verb) — you relegate what no longer matters much.
  • Part 5 test: swap in assign → delegate; swap in demote → relegate.

Sort the trusting hand-off from the downward push and this rhyming pair stops costing you Part 5 points. Keep working through the commonly confused word pairs master index to lock in the rest.