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:
According to their statement, an unnamed woman arrived home to find Gonzalez — an agent with U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
The case echoed other recent cases, including one where an OpenAI agent undergoing a security evaluation broke out of its testing environment and breached systems at AI platform Hugging Face.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Mac demanded to know how the personal agent ended up sharing info to the company Slack.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Zhykovych now claims she was living a double-life, working with him as an agent "against Muscovy" – meaning Russia.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Before he left, the FBI agent had one more question.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
Algorithms digest endless reams of footage to find hidden gems and patterns for agents to monitor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the shooting in an initial social media post, saying Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had shot a New Yorker while his child was in the vehicle.
From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2026
In another instance, more than 1,200 OpenAI agents went rogue and started unexpectedly communicating, leading to a large group banding together to hack into AI platform Hugging Face.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Mamdani on Thursday said he was seeking to speak with Trump and would demand that immigration agents be withdrawn from the city.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
It was 4:30 p.m. when FBI agents apprehended him and shuttled him off in a car to FBI headquarters.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
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.
