demote
Americanverb (used with object)
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demotes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
demoted,
past participle, past
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demoting
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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demotesimple
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demotessimple
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have demotedperfect
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has demotedperfect
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am demotingprogressive
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are demotingprogressive
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is demotingprogressive
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have been demotingperfect progressive
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has been demotingperfect progressive
Past
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demotedsimple
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had demotedperfect
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was demotingprogressive
-
were demotingprogressive
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had been demotingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of demote
Explanation
To demote someone is to move them into a less important job. Your coffee shop boss might demote you to wiping tables if your attempts to froth milk and pull espresso shots continuously fail. When your employer demotes you, she assigns you an easier task or even an entirely new, lower-ranked position. You may even earn less money. In the military, to demote is to move a soldier down in rank, usually as a punishment. The opposite of demote is promote, which came first. The prefix de- gives the word a sense of "down" or "down from."
Vocabulary lists containing demote
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie
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They Both Die at the End
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Vocabulary from the Twelfth Republican Debate, March 10, 2016
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Ahead of the first-round vote earlier this month, Bolsonaro fiercely denied a rumor that he planned to demote Brazil's beloved patron saint, Our Lady of Aparecida, if elected.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
The Pentagon has since tried in vain to demote his military rank and a grand jury have declined to charge him with seditious conspiracy.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
Kelly filed a lawsuit in January that accused Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of violating his First Amendment rights by moving to formally censure him and demote him over the video.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026
According to Fidell, the secretary of defense has the authority to demote only flag officers—that is, generals and admirals.
From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2026
In a furious squabble of accusation and recrimination he would demote officers and promote the most unlikely soldiers from the ranks.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
The chart formula automatically demotes songs that have had three consecutive weeks of declining streaming figures, when compared with the rest of the market.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2025
Right after the ink on that resignation letter has dried, Deborah demotes Ava to second chair, telling her that Winnie is requiring her to hire the previous host’s head writer.
From Salon ● May 31, 2024
Only Rishi Sunak, the chancellor of the Exchequer, might be tempted to quit if Mr. Johnson demotes him in a reshuffle.
From New York Times ● Jun. 7, 2022
Facebook said it also demotes content from news publishers that users rate as untrusted in surveys and content posted by pages or accounts that repeatedly violate its rules.
From Reuters ● Sep. 23, 2021
“When an employer demotes an employee out of a desire to prevent the employee from engaging in political activity that the First Amendment protects, the employee is entitled to challenge that unlawful action.”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 26, 2016
Greg Olsen, the well-liked tight end whom Fox demoted to make way for handsome extraterrestrial Tom Brady, will be available at season’s end, and in high demand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
Two veteran FBI counterterrorism officials were demoted after investigators determined allegedly harassing calls to a top White House aide’s wife did not warrant further investigation, according to multiple reports.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026
It will be the first time Palace have competed in the Europa League, having been demoted from the competition last July for breaching multi-club ownership rules.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
The senior pilot assigned the Sunday shift was demoted to patrol duty by Nanos days earlier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
The sophomores were officially demoted to junior varsity status; the older boys would row as varsity.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
The EU said Google abused its market dominance as a search engine by promoting its own comparison-shopping service in search results and demoting those of competitors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
The European Commission said Google is demoting media publishers' websites and content in search results when they include content from commercial partners, such as sponsored editorial pieces.
From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2025
The mayor said she was demoting Crowley for failing to inform her about the dangerous conditions or to activate hundreds of firefighters ahead of the blaze.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2025
The Briton was controversially penalised at Sunday's United States Grand Prix, demoting him from third to fourth behind Verstappen, for overtaking off track.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2024
He regarded this as a slight, that I was in effect demoting him, and he refused, choosing instead to run for the presidency himself.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
