demote

verb

de·​mote di-ˈmōt 

ˌdē-

demoted; demoting

transitive verb

1

: to reduce to a lower grade or rank

demote a student

was demoted from major to captain

2

: to relegate to a less important position

a pitcher demoted to the bullpen

demotion

di-ˈmō-shən 

ˌdē-

noun

Synonyms

• break
• bust
• degrade
• disrate
• downgrade
• reduce

Examples of demote in a Sentence

Teachers can choose to demote a student to a lower grade.

The army major was demoted to captain.

Recent Examples on the Web

Don't miss these Bayside police hired a sheriff's lieutenant who was demoted and suspended. —Steven Martinez, Journal Sentinel, 16 Oct. 2024

Knack was having a solid rookie season but had been demoted back to triple-A. Once others started going down because of injuries, however, both right-handed pitchers reentered the equation. —Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2024

However, Bell's actions resulted in a penalty, demoting him to 22nd place, due to a breach of safety regulations. —Alex Harrington, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024

By contrast, the search results of competing comparison shopping services appeared as simple generic results, displayed in the form of blue links, and were prone to being demoted by adjustment algorithms in Google’s general results pages. —Emma Woollacott, Forbes, 11 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

de- + -mote (as in promote)

First Known Use

1872, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

demote

verb

de·​mote di-ˈmōt 

ˈdē-

demoted; demoting

: to reduce to a lower grade or rank

demotion

di-ˈmō-shən 

ˈdē-

noun