Definition of "deputize" [dep•u•tize]

• To appoint or serve as a deputy. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Matt Rothschild's astonishing expose of the FBI's decision to "deputize" 23,000 representatives of private industry reflects a frightening alignment of authoritarian forces, as well as another apparently deliberate flouting of constitutional norms."
• "People are out there to become part of the solution, to kind of deputize them without giving them official rank."
• "There also can be ways to "deputize" respected members of your community to help you with the task."