agency
Americannoun
-
agencies
plural
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an organization, company, or bureau that provides a particular service.
We are a nonprofit agency for people experiencing food insecurity.
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a company having a franchise to represent another.
Perhaps we should be looking for a new advertising agency.
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a governmental bureau or administrative division, or an office that represents it.
My internship at the FDA led to job opportunities with other federal agencies.
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the place of business of an agent.
If you stop by the agency tomorrow, we can go over the details of the land sale.
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the duty or function of an agent.
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the relationship between a principal and an agent.
Investment firms must incentivize proper agency so that fund managers prioritize the investor’s interests over their own.
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the state of being in action or of exerting power; operation.
the agency of divine Providence.
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the capacity to act or exert power.
We may have our free agency, but we are responsible for our choices.
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a means of exerting power or influence; instrumentality.
nominated by the agency of friends.
- Synonyms:
- intercession
noun
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a business or other organization providing a specific service
an employment agency
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the place where an agent conducts business
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the business, duties, or functions of an agent
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action, power, or operation
the agency of fate
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intercession or mediation
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one of the administrative organizations of a government
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of agency
First recorded in 1650–60; from Medieval Latin agentia “ability,” from Latin ag(ere) “to do, drive” + -entia -ency
Explanation
An agency usually provides a service, like an aid organization or a government bureau. If you're looking for a job, an employment agency might be able to help. The Latin word agere means "to do or manage," and it's a fitting ancestor for agency, a word that means an institution that manages or specializes in something. As a secret agent, you might work for the CIA, or Central Intelligence Agency. I hope you look good in black. The noun agency also refers to the power or ability to do something, as in the William McKinley quote, "War should never be entered upon until every agency of peace has failed.”
Vocabulary lists containing agency
"The Harlem Renaissance"
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President Obama's Speech on the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington
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Word Generation Social Studies - Complex Questions Related to American Democracy
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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:
The agency said firefighters were "aggressively attacking the fire from ground and air" and issued repeated pleas for people to stay clear of the area.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
The advertising agency has since acknowledged its mistake and refunded the money.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Rodrigo Seira, a partner at law firm Cooley, said the firm has spoken with the agency a couple of times and expects revisions to the current innovation exemptions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
“I’ll be recruiting,” he interjected with a smile, as Skubal declined to comment on free agency, saying it was too soon to try to predict what the future would hold for him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Three minutes after the quake began, the agency issued a tsunami warning predicting waves up to 20 feet high in Miyagi prefecture and 10 feet in Iwate and Fukushima.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
Under scrutiny by global index providers and credit rating agencies, Indonesian authorities have announced reforms and sought to address market concerns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
"This FBI and the US Postal Inspection Service will continue to safeguard the public and secure elections for American citizens," the agencies said in a statement on Thursday.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
During that event, she promised to hire a chief financial officer to improve coordination between city agencies and appoint a new recovery czar for the burned areas of Pacific Palisades.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
The California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, is a state law from 1970 that requires state and local agencies to evaluate the environmental impact of proposed projects before approving them.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
The people who had done the persuading saw it as a sales job: They knew there was a difference between corporate and consumer loans that the rating agencies had failed to grapple with.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
