| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| agent |
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| SYLLABICATION: | a·gent |
| PRONUNCIATION: |    j nt |
| NOUN: | 1. One that acts or has the power or authority to act. 2. One empowered to act for or represent another: an author's agent; an insurance agent. 3. A means by which something is done or caused; instrument. 4. A force or substance that causes a change: a chemical agent; an infectious agent. 5. A representative or official of a government or administrative department of a government: an FBI agent. 6. A spy. 7. Linguistics The noun or noun phrase that specifies the person through whom or the means by which an action is effected. | | VERB: | Inflected forms: a·gent·ed, a·gent·ing, a·gents
| | TRANSITIVE VERB: | To act as an agent or representative for: Who will agent your next book? | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | To act as an agent or representative. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, from Latin ag ns, agent-, present participle of agere, to do. See ag- in Appendix I.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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