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 Giants, out of the playoff race, dealt Arraez to the Phillies as a trade deadline rental before he hits free agency for the second straight winter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
At issue with Walter is $21 billion in loans not disclosed to state insurance regulators that were made by two Delaware insurers he owns, according to ratings agency Fitch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
"NASA scientists are planning to collect lunar data from the event and refine techniques for tracking objects in space," the US agency said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
Medicare spending on hospice care nearly doubled from $15.5 billion in 2015 to $27.5 billion in 2024, according to MedPAC, the independent agency that advises Congress on Medicare issues.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
The committee, created by the Continental Congress, was really a spy agency, set up “for the sole purpose of Corresponding with our friends in Great Britain, Ireland and other parts of the world.”
From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen
Galma also argued that other security agencies should receive similar pay reviews, stressing that "keeping the country safe is a joint effort".
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
But since that law was signed, the shuttering of two major refineries in the state has left lawmakers and agencies skittish about regulating the facilities before electric vehicles have displaced the demand for gas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
In January 2025, the OMB released a memo that ordered all federal agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance.”
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
The findings were published in Science Advances on July 31, 2026, as space agencies prepare for a new era of lunar exploration.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 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
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.
