proxy

[ prok-see ]
See synonyms for: proxyproxies on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural prox·ies.
  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.

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

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

  3. Computer.

    • 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.

    • 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.

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.

Origin of proxy

1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English prokesye, procusie, contraction of procuracy “procuration”; see procure, -acy

Words Nearby proxy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use proxy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for proxy

proxy

/ (ˈprɒksɪ) /


nounplural proxies
  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

  1. computing short for proxy server

Origin of proxy

1
C15: prokesye, contraction of procuracy, from Latin prōcūrātiō procuration; see procure

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

Cultural definitions for proxy

proxy

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

Notes for proxy

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

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.