demoted; demoting
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
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
Bass later demoted Crowley and named interim and permanent fire chiefs.
—
Center Square, The Washington Examiner, 1 Jan. 2026
Trump has since those initial January dismissals fired or demoted multiple other inspectors general.
—Connor Greene, Time, 1 Jan. 2026
Highways, viaducts, giant interchanges, and a major Metro junction viciously mutilated São Paulo’s downtown in the 1960s and ’70s, demoting it from a popular residential area to a commercial transfer hub, overcrowded and polluted by day but forlorn by night.
—Michaëla De Lacaze Mohrmann, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
Other states, counties and cities like Delaware, Florida's Monroe County, and Battle Creek, Michigan created rules to explicitly protect against workplace discrimination, so workers can't be fired or demoted because of their caregiving responsibilities.
—Kat McGowan, NPR, 30 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demote
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Center Square, The Washington Examiner, 1 Jan. 2026
Trump has since those initial January dismissals fired or demoted multiple other inspectors general.
—Connor Greene, Time, 1 Jan. 2026
Highways, viaducts, giant interchanges, and a major Metro junction viciously mutilated São Paulo’s downtown in the 1960s and ’70s, demoting it from a popular residential area to a commercial transfer hub, overcrowded and polluted by day but forlorn by night.
—Michaëla De Lacaze Mohrmann, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
Other states, counties and cities like Delaware, Florida's Monroe County, and Battle Creek, Michigan created rules to explicitly protect against workplace discrimination, so workers can't be fired or demoted because of their caregiving responsibilities.
—Kat McGowan, NPR, 30 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demote
Cite this Entry
“Demote.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demote. Accessed 3 Jan. 2026.
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