agent
Americannoun
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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
- agential adjective
- counteragent noun
- interagent noun
- superagent noun
- underagent noun
Etymology
Origin of agent
First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin agent-, stem of agēns “doing,” present participle of agere “to do, drive”
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.
Top agent Scott Boras said that, unlike in the NFL, baseball’s open salary system works for players because “your talent allows you to earn what you can earn without taking money from anybody else’s pocket.”
From Los Angeles Times
Over half of agents are racial minorities, and 41% are women.
From Salon
When agents came knocking, Rojas sent his employees to the basement.
The abilities of so-called agents have been at the heart of the software selloff this year.
From Barron's
Andain's housing association told us that a managing agent, appointed by a freeholder, sets the service charge and it had challenged increases and requested justifications.
From BBC
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.
