agent
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.
a person or thing that acts or has the power to act.
a natural force or object producing or used for obtaining specific results: Many insects are agents of fertilization.
an active cause; an efficient cause.
a person who works for or manages an agency.
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.
a person responsible for a particular action: Who was the agent of this deed?
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.
a representative of a business firm, especially a traveling salesperson; canvasser; solicitor.
Chemistry. a substance that causes a reaction.
Pharmacology. a drug or chemical capable of eliciting a biological response.
Pathology. any microorganism capable of causing disease.
British. a campaign manager; an election agent.
acting; exerting power (opposed to patient).
to represent (a person or thing) as an agent; act as an agent for: to agent a manuscript;Who agented that deal?
Origin of agent
1Other words for agent
Other words from agent
- coun·ter·a·gent, noun
- in·ter·a·gent, noun
- su·per·a·gent, noun
- un·der·a·gent, noun
Words Nearby agent
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use agent in a sentence
Before anti-vaxxers, there were anti-fluoriders: a group who spread fear about the anti-tooth decay agent added to drinking water.
My agent at the time sent that tape to SNL and then they asked me to come in for an audition.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness | Marlow Stern | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTI could complain about how, two out of eight episodes in, agent Carter is in no hurry to introduce its real villain.
Lalo said he reported the kidnapping to his ICE handlers, which was confirmed by a former federal agent familiar with the case.
An Informant, a Missing American, and Juarez’s House of Death: Inside the 12-Year Cold Case of David Castro | Bill Conroy | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTYou would drink it, then “take a little nap and after that you feel wonderful,” according to a press agent.
That the inconstancy of such notices, in cases equally important, proves they did not proceed from any such agent.
The board will appoint a settling agent who shall keep the necessary records and accounts.
Readings in Money and Banking | Chester Arthur PhillipsIt is probable he wished to provide written proof of a plea that he was an unwilling agent in the clutch of a mutinous army.
The Red Year | Louis TracyWhen the carpet was done, Aunt Ri took the roll in her own independent arms, and strode with it to the agent's house.
Ramona | Helen Hunt JacksonYes, the agent had heard this; he had wondered why the widow did not come to see him; he had expected to hear from her.
Ramona | Helen Hunt Jackson
British Dictionary definitions for agent
/ (ˈeɪdʒənt) /
a person who acts on behalf of another person, group, business, government, etc; representative
a person or thing that acts or has the power to act
a phenomenon, substance, or organism that exerts some force or effect: a chemical agent
the means by which something occurs or is achieved; instrument: wind is an agent of plant pollination
a person representing a business concern, esp a travelling salesman
British short for estate agent
short for secret agent
Origin of agent
1Derived forms of agent
- agential (eɪˈdʒɛnʃəl), adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for agent
[ ā′jənt ]
A substance that can bring about a chemical reaction or a biological effect. Compare reagent.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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