proxy

American  

[prok-see] / ˈprɒk si /

noun

plural

proxies

1. the agency, function, or power of a person authorized to act as the deputy or substitute for another.

2. a person authorized to act as a deputy or substitute for another; agent.

3. a written authorization empowering another person to vote or act for the signer, such as at a meeting of stockholders.

4. an ally or confederate who can be relied upon to speak or act in one's behalf.

5. Computer.

   1. a server or program that receives requests, filters them, and forwards them to a network on behalf of another computer or network which it represents under a surrogate IP address: used to provide anonymity or increased security or to carry out intermediate processing.

   2. a placeholder programming object whose function is to delegate the execution of an action to one or more other objects it controls access to, allowing the placeholder to carry out other processing before and after that action.

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adjective

1. relating to or having the agency, function, or power of a person authorized to act as the deputy or substitute for another.

   If you are unable to reach the polls, you can choose a proxy voter to cast your ballot for you.

   Because of the distance to be traveled, a proxy groom stood in for the queen's future husband.

2. (especially of a conflict) occurring between states, people, etc., who are directed, influenced, or funded by other states, people, etc..

   Proxy wars were a major feature of the Cold War.

   The new CEO won control of the company after a proxy battle.

proxy British  

/ ˈprɒksɪ /

noun

1. a person authorized to act on behalf of someone else; agent

   to vote by proxy

2. the authority, esp in the form of a document, given to a person to act on behalf of someone else

3. computing short for proxy server

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proxy Cultural  

1. A person authorized to act for another, or the written authorization to act for another.

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Discover More

Shareholders in corporations may designate proxies to represent them at stockholders' meetings and vote their shares.

Etymology

Origin of proxy

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English prokesye, procusie, contraction of procuracy “procuration”; procure, -acy

Example Sentences

We have evolved to view linguistic fluency as a proxy for intelligence, and engagement and helpfulness as indicators of trustworthiness.

From The Wall Street Journal

However, these stocks aren’t simply a proxy for oil prices, he says.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Economist Group said Tuesday that Smith had agreed to buy the stake alongside his family’s Smith Financial holding company, which has interests in various businesses including proxy adviser Glass Lewis.

From The Wall Street Journal

That was evident in Berkshire’s 2026 proxy statement released late Friday.

From Barron's

They doubt Iran will be able to keep supporting its network of regional proxies.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• intermediary
• stand-in
• surrogate