relegate

relegate (someone or something) to (something)

To consign someone or something to some inferior, obscure, or trivial rank, status, position, place, category, etc. Often used in passive constructions. So brief was his presidency that William Henry Harrison has been relegated to little more than a footnote in American history. Rather than firing me outright, they've relegated me to a thankless, dead-end job in the company. Failing to find critical success in the art work, his work has been relegated to the lobbies of cheap hotels and cafés.

See also: relegate, to

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

relegate someone to someone or something

to assign someone to someone or something. (Often refers to something unimportant or demeaning.) They relegated the old man to a bed in the corner. The former vice president was relegated to the position of manager of special projects.

See also: relegate, to

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.