Agent Meaning
/ˈeɪ̯d͡ʒənt/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounOne who exerts power, or has the power to act.
nounOne who acts for, or in the place of, another (the principal), by that person's authority; someone entrusted to act on behalf of or in behalf of another, such as to transact business for them.
Sentence Examples
In case of an emergency, get in touch with my agent.
In case of an emergency, get in touch with my agent right away.
Our agent in New York deals with all US sales.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The secret ____ infiltrated the enemy organization to gather information.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The real estate ____ showed us several houses in the neighborhood.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti Proto-Italic *agō Latin agō Latin agēnsder. English agent From Latin agēns, present active participle of agere (“to drive, lead, conduct, manage, perform, do”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Seeing we are so wonderfully endowed with priceless gifts by our Heavenly Father, will he not require usury at our hands? He will. But he has made us agents to ourselves, which makes us responsible for the way in which we use the talents he has given us, for the manner we expend the gold and silver, the wheat and fine flour, the cattle upon a thousand hills, and the wine and oil, for they all belong to Him"
— 1862, Brigham Young, “Call for Teams to Go to the Frontiers, etc.”, in Journal of Discourses, volume 9:
"I see in him [Moby Dick] outrageous strength, with an inscrutable malice sinewing it. That inscrutable thing is chiefly what I hate; and be the white whale agent, or be the white whale principal, I will wreak that hate upon him."
— 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 36, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
"Having a good buyer’s agent also means having someone who is knowledgeable about the local real estate market and who has the skills and competence to negotiate with the seller’s agent on your behalf."
— 2024 April 22, Jeanne Sahadi, “What a buyer’s agent will do for you when you’re looking for a new home”, in CNN Business, archived from the original on 18 Jan 2025:
"Ronald Koeman has agreed a deal with Everton to become their new manager, his agent has reportedly told Dutch media. The agent Rob Jansen said, according to the popular Voetbal International website, that it was now down to Southampton and Everton to agree a compensation package for the Dutchman, who has a year remaining on his contract at St Mary’s."
— 2016 June 4, Press Association, “Ronald Koeman’s agent says Dutchman has agreed terms with Everton”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 22 Jun 2021:
"So far seems to be the work of chemistry alone; at least we have no right to conclude that any other agent interferes; since hay, when it happens to imbibe moisture, exhibits nearly the same processes.""
— 1807, James Edward Smith, chapter 11, in An introduction to physiological and systematical botany:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The secret ____ infiltrated the enemy organization to gather information.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The real estate ____ showed us several houses in the neighborhood.