Crossword Genius

Move down and remove bad marks? (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

demote

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'move down' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are verbs in their base form, I cannot understand how one could define the other.

'remove bad marks?' is the wordplay.
'remove' becomes 'de' (I've seen this in other clues).
'bad marks?' becomes 'mote' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'de'+'mote'='DEMOTE'

'and' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for demote that I've seen before include "Downgrade" , "Move to lower status" , "Relegate" , "Move down in rank" , "Reduce to lower rank as punishment" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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