From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishabdicateab‧di‧cate /ˈæbdɪkeɪt/ verb [intransitive, transitive] 1 SSto give up the position of being king or queen King Alfonso XIII abdicated in favour of his eldest son. The king was forced to abdicate the throne.2 → abdicate (your) responsibility —abdication /ˌæbdɪˈkeɪʃən/ noun [countable, uncountable]→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
abdicate• By the end of the year he had abdicated.• President Kennedy assured Wallace that federal troops would be used only if the state abdicated its responsibilities.• Opponents also cite the city government as an example of where elected officials have abdicated their power to the appointed staff.• This is not a reason why district ethics committees should yield to pressure to abdicate their responsibilities to local citizens.• When governments abdicate this steering responsibility, disaster often follows.• Edward reportedly surrendered and abdicated, whereupon the estates renounced their homage to him and then returned to inform parliament.Origin abdicate (1500-1600) Latin past participle of abdicare, from ab- “away, off” + dicare “to say publicly” 