What does Agent mean?

Definitions for Agent
ˈeɪ dʒəntagent

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Agent.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. agentnoun

    an active and efficient cause; capable of producing a certain effect

    "their research uncovered new disease agents"

  2. agentnoun

    a representative who acts on behalf of other persons or organizations

  3. agentnoun

    a substance that exerts some force or effect

  4. agent, factor, brokernoun

    a businessman who buys or sells for another in exchange for a commission

  5. agent, federal agentnoun

    any agent or representative of a federal agency or bureau

  6. agentive role, agentnoun

    the semantic role of the animate entity that instigates or causes the happening denoted by the verb in the clause

GCIDE

  1. Agentnoun

    (Biochem., Med.) a chemical substance having biological effects; a drug.

Wiktionary

  1. agentnoun

    One who exerts power, or has the power to act; an actor.

  2. agentnoun

    One who acts for, or in the place of, another (the principal), by authority from him; one intrusted with the business of another; a substitute; a deputy; a factor.

  3. agentnoun

    An active power or cause; that which has the power to produce an effect; as, a physical, chemical, or medicinal agent; as, heat is a powerful agent.

  4. agentnoun

    In the client-server model, the part of the system that performs information preparation and exchange on behalf of a client or server. Especially in the phrase intelligent agent it implies some kind of autonomous process which can communicate with other agents to perform some collective task on behalf of one or more humans.

  5. agentnoun

    The participant of a situation that carries out the action in this situation, e.g. "the boy" in the sentences "The boy kicked the ball" and "The ball was kicked by the boy".

  6. Etymology: From agens, present participle of ago

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. AGENTadjective

    That which acts; opposed to patient, or that which is acted upon.

    Etymology: agens, Lat.

    This success is oft truly ascribed unto the force of imagination upon the body agent; and then, by a secondary means, it may upon a diverse body; as, for example, if a man carry a ring, or some part of a beast, believing strongly that it will help him to obtain his love, it may make him more industrious, and again more confident and persisting than otherwise he would be. Francis Bacon, Natural History, №. 902.

  2. Agentnoun

    Where there is no doubt, deliberation is not excluded as impertinent unto the thing, but as needless in regard of the agent, which seeth already what to resolve upon. Richard Hooker.

    To whom nor agent, from the instrument,
    Nor pow’r of working, from the work is known. Davies.

    Heav’n made us agents free to good or ill,
    And forc’d it not, tho’ he foresaw the will.
    Freedom was first bestow’d on human race,
    And prescience only held the second place. Dryden.

    A miracle is a work exceeding the power of any created agent, consequently being an effect of the divine omnipotence. Robert South, Sermons.

    —— All hearts in love, use your own tongues;
    Let every eye negotiate for itself,
    And trust no agent. William Shakespeare.

    They had not the wit to send to them, in any orderly fashion, agents or chosen men, to tempt them, and to treat with them. Francis Bacon, Henry VII.

    Remember, Sir, your fury of a wife,
    Who, not content to be reveng’d on you,
    The agents of your passion will pursue. John Dryden, Aureng.

    They produced wonderful effects, by the proper application of agents to patients. William Temple.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Agentadjective

    acting; -- opposed to patient, or sustaining, action

  2. Agentnoun

    one who exerts power, or has the power to act; an actor

  3. Agentnoun

    one who acts for, or in the place of, another, by authority from him; one intrusted with the business of another; a substitute; a deputy; a factor

  4. Agentnoun

    an active power or cause; that which has the power to produce an effect; as, a physical, chemical, or medicinal agent; as, heat is a powerful agent

  5. Etymology: [L. agens, agentis, p. pr. of agere to act; akin to Gr. to lead, Icel. aka to drive, Skr. aj. 2.]

Freebase

  1. Agent

    In linguistics, a grammatical agent is the cause or initiator of an event. Agent may also be the name of the thematic role. The word comes from the present participle agens, agentis of the Latin verb agere, to "do" or "make".

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Agent

    āj′ent, n. a person or thing that acts or exerts power: any natural force acting on matter: one authorised or delegated to transact business for another.—n. Ag′ency, the office or business, operation or action, of an agent; instrumentality.—Law agent, a general term in Scotland, including Writers to the Signet, Solicitors to the Supreme Court, and Procurators in the sheriff courts—the requirements are an indentured apprenticeship of five years to a law agent, the passing of examinations in general knowledge and in law, and formal admission by the Court of Session. [L. agĕre, to do. See Act.]

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms

  1. agent

    In intelligence usage, one who is authorized or instructed to obtain or to assist in obtaining information for intelligence or counterintelligence purposes.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. agent

    In physics, expresses that by which a thing is done or effected.--Navy agent is a deputy employed to pass accounts, transact business, and receive pay or other monies, in behoof of the officers and crew, and to apply the proceeds as directed by them.--Agent victuallers, officers appointed to the charge of provisions at our foreign ports and stations, to contract for, buy, and regulate, under the authority of the commissioners of the navy. (See NEGLIGENCE.)--Prize agent, one appointed for the sale of prizes, and nominated in equal numbers by the commander, the officers, and the ship's company.

Editors Contribution

  1. agent

    A person that represents a business, company or organization.

    The customer service agent was helpful, understanding and kind.


    Submitted by MaryC on March 15, 2020  

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. AGENT

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Agent is ranked #33941 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Agent surname appeared 670 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Agent.

    72.2% or 484 total occurrences were White.
    23.7% or 159 total occurrences were Black.
    2% or 14 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    1.3% or 9 total occurrences were of two or more races.

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Agent' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2379

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Agent' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3013

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Agent' in Nouns Frequency: #590

How to pronounce Agent?

How to say Agent in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Agent in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Agent in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of Agent in a Sentence

  1. Hunter Biden:

    Fox News therefore, a rendition of the case from such an ‘agent’ is inherently biased, one-sided and inaccurate.

  2. Roger Stone:

    The inference that my now completely public exchange with a hacker Guccifer 2.0 who may or may not be a Russian agent somehow constitutes collusion is not true based on either the facts, on the actual texts which I released, or on the timing.

  3. Prosecutor Erik Kenerson:

    This is not a registration offense, this is a case where the defendant acted in the United States as an agent of the Russian government.

  4. Dennis Quaid:

    My agent wanted to represent him and he said no I want to do it on my own, and then, of course, he gets an agent on his own and his first movie is Hunger Games. Then he gets in [Martin] Scorseses Vinyl on television, which was the hottest show there was. Now hes doing The Boys, which is the hottest thing on streaming. Its a great show.

  5. Peggy Flanagan:

    She kept saying, 'I have a medical device I need to bring with me on the plane,' over and over, visibly upset, the ticket agent and her supervisor, who she eventually called over, were not helpful and not supportive.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

Agent#1#1441#10000

Translations for Agent

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"Agent." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. Web. 6 Jun 2023. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Agent>.

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    showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth
    • A. whirring
    • B. transparent
    • C. plush
    • D. profound

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