agent
Americannoun
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agents
plural
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a person or business authorized to act on another's behalf.
Our agent in Hong Kong will ship the merchandise.
A best-selling author needs a good agent.
- Synonyms:
- deputy, representative
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a person or thing that acts or has the power to act.
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a natural force or object producing or used for obtaining specific results.
Many insects are agents of fertilization.
- Synonyms:
- means
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an active cause; an efficient cause.
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a person who works for or manages an agency.
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a person who acts in an official capacity for a government or private agency as a guard, detective, or spy.
an FBI agent;
the secret agents of a foreign power.
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a person responsible for a particular action.
Who was the agent of this deed?
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Grammar. a form or construction, usually a noun or noun phrase, denoting an animate being that performs or causes the action expressed by the verb, as the police in The car was found by the police.
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a representative of a business firm, especially a traveling salesperson; canvasser; solicitor.
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Chemistry. a substance that causes a reaction.
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Pharmacology. a drug or chemical capable of eliciting a biological response.
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Pathology. any microorganism capable of causing disease.
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British. a campaign manager; an election agent.
adjective
verb (used with object)
noun
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a person who acts on behalf of another person, group, business, government, etc; representative
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a person or thing that acts or has the power to act
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a phenomenon, substance, or organism that exerts some force or effect
a chemical agent
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the means by which something occurs or is achieved; instrument
wind is an agent of plant pollination
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a person representing a business concern, esp a travelling salesman
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short for estate agent
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short for secret agent
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of agent
First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin agent-, stem of agēns “doing,” present participle of agere “to do, drive”
Explanation
When you're buying a house or negotiating your break-out movie contract, it's a good idea to hire an agent to represent you — someone who can keep a cool head and get the best deal for you. The suave 007 may be your dream secret agent, but you could find real ones in the CIA, the FBI, and other government organizations populated with agents. Beware the double agent, the spy you think is working for you when he's really working for your enemy. An inanimate object can also be an agent. A chemical agent, like vinegar mixed with salt, can make copper pennies shine. Chemical weapons contain more sinister agents that wreak havoc on their victims.
Vocabulary lists containing agent
"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from Act 3
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Academy Awards, List 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“It gave us a chance to show our appreciation,” said Van Doren, a real-estate agent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Every time a company trains a model, deploys an AI agent or runs inference through its cloud, Amazon makes money.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
And Max Liu of LobeHub, another agent system, sees international AI price competition as "a good thing for the world as a whole".
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
Last season was spent on loan at Plymouth Argyle and he is currently a free agent - this means he is not tied to any club by a legal contract.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
He’s even got a second agent, a short chap called Digby, who watches me from his car.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
In some of these experiments, AI agents escaped the sandboxes or otherwise breached test limits, reached the internet, and then hacked into other companies or improperly gained access to data.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
That idea sent me down a rabbit hole involving real-estate agents, tiny shoebox apartments and frustrating chats with mortgage brokers.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
These are much cheaper to run and good enough for many purposes, such as helping run AI agents that can carry out real-world tasks autonomously, experts say.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
Many homes in the core downtown area had appreciated significantly in the five years between being announced and finally being move-in ready, the agents said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
It was closely followed by a chase car with two agents from the DGSI, the French intelligence agency in charge of counterterrorism.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
