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
Shoigu was demoted from his longtime role as defense minister in May 2024 and made the secretary of Russia's Security Council.
—
Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025
The corpsman, whose name the Navy will not disclose, was demoted in rank to E-2 from E-3, given 20 days of extra duty and only received half pay for the next six months.
—James Laporta, CBS News, 17 Jan. 2025
While Jenny West finished in first place, Michele Fitzgerald finished in second, and Rachel Robinson finished in third, the Karma vote bumped Rachel up to tie with Jenny for first place, and Michele was demoted to third place.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 9 Jan. 2025
Pluto isn’t a planet Pluto was famously demoted from a full planet to a dwarf planet in 2006.
—Amanda Kooser, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for demote 
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Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025
The corpsman, whose name the Navy will not disclose, was demoted in rank to E-2 from E-3, given 20 days of extra duty and only received half pay for the next six months.
—James Laporta, CBS News, 17 Jan. 2025
While Jenny West finished in first place, Michele Fitzgerald finished in second, and Rachel Robinson finished in third, the Karma vote bumped Rachel up to tie with Jenny for first place, and Michele was demoted to third place.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 9 Jan. 2025
Pluto isn’t a planet Pluto was famously demoted from a full planet to a dwarf planet in 2006.
—Amanda Kooser, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for demote
Dictionary Entries Near demote
Cite this Entry
“Demote.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demote. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
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