agency
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Related to agency: Agency theory, Job agency
a·gen·cy
(ā′jən-sē)n. pl. a·gen·cies
1. The condition of being in action; operation.
2. The means or mode of acting; instrumentality.
3.
a. A business with agents that negotiate deals for clients: a talent agency; a real estate agency.
b. An advertising or public relations firm.
4. An administrative division of a government or international body.
[Medieval Latin agentia, from Latin agēns, agent-, present participle of agere, to do; see agent.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
agency
(ˈeɪdʒənsɪ)n, pl -cies
1. (Commerce) a business or other organization providing a specific service: an employment agency.
2. (Commerce) the place where an agent conducts business
3. (Commerce) the business, duties, or functions of an agent
4. action, power, or operation: the agency of fate.
5. intercession or mediation
6. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) one of the administrative organizations of a government
[C17: from Medieval Latin agentia, from Latin agere to do]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
a•gen•cy
(ˈeɪ dʒən si)n., pl. -cies.
1. an organization, company, or bureau that provides a particular service: a welfare agency.
2. a government bureau or administrative division.
3. a company having a franchise to represent another.
4. the duty or function of an agent.
5. the place of business of an agent.
6. a means of exerting power or influence; instrumentality.
[1650–60; < Medieval Latin]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
agency
In intelligence usage, an organization or individual engaged in collecting and/or processing information. Also called collection agency. See also agent; intelligence process; source.
Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Noun | 1. |  agency - an administrative unit of government; "the Central Intelligence Agency"; "the Census Bureau"; "Office of Management and Budget"; "Tennessee Valley Authority"administrative body, administrative unit - a unit with administrative responsibilities executive agency - an agency of the executive branch of government FDA, Food and Drug Administration - a federal agency in the Department of Health and Human Services established to regulate the release of new foods and health-related products CDC, Center for Disease Control and Prevention - a federal agency in the Department of Health and Human Services; located in Atlanta; investigates and diagnoses and tries to control or prevent diseases (especially new and unusual diseases) Counterterrorist Center, CTC - an agency that helps the Director of Central Intelligence coordinate counterterrorist efforts in order to preempt and disrupt and defeat terrorist activities at the earliest possible stage Nonproliferation Center, NPC - an agency that serves as the focal point for all Intelligence Community activities related to nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their missile delivery systems Bureau of the Census, Census Bureau - the bureau of the Commerce Department responsible for taking the census; provides demographic information and analyses about the population of the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA - an agency in the Department of Commerce that maps the oceans and conserves their living resources; predicts changes to the earth's environment; provides weather reports and forecasts floods and hurricanes and other natural disasters related to weather National Climatic Data Center, NCDC - the part of NOAA that maintains the world's largest active archive of weather data National Weather Service - the federal agency in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that is responsible for weather forecast and preparation of weather maps Technology Administration - an agency in the Department of Commerce that works with United States industries to promote competitiveness and maximize the impact of technology on economic growth National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST - an agency in the Technology Administration that makes measurements and sets standards as needed by industry or government programs National Technical Information Service, NTIS - an agency in the Technology Administration that is a primary resource for government-funded scientific and technical and engineering and business related information DARPA, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - the central research and development organization for the United States Department of Defense; responsible for developing new surveillance technologies since 9/11 Department of Defense Laboratory System, LABLINK - a defense laboratory that provides essential services in fundamental science for national security and environmental protection and provides technologies that contribute to industrial competitiveness Department of Energy Intelligence, DOEI - an agency that collects political and economic and technical information about energy matters and makes the Department of Energy's technical and analytical expertise available to other members of the Intelligence Community PHS, United States Public Health Service - an agency that serves as the office of Surgeon General; includes agencies whose mission is to improve the public health National Institutes of Health, NIH - an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services whose mission is to employ science in the pursuit of knowledge to improve human health; is the principal biomedical research agency of the federal government BJA, Bureau of Justice Assistance - the bureau in the Department of Justice that assists local criminal justice systems to reduce or prevent crime and violence and drug abuse BJS, Bureau of Justice Statistics - the agency in the Department of Justice that is the primary source of criminal justice statistics for federal and local policy makers Immigration and Naturalization Service, INS - an agency in the Department of Justice that enforces laws and regulations for the admission of foreign-born persons to the United States United States Border Patrol, US Border Patrol - the mobile law enforcement arm of the Immigration and Naturalization Service that detects and prevents illegal entry of aliens into the United States Bureau of Diplomatic Security, DS - the bureau in the State Department that is responsible for the security of diplomats and embassies overseas Foreign Service - the part of the State Department that supplies diplomats for the United States embassies and consulates around the world Bureau of Intelligence and Research, INR - an agency that is the primary source in the State Department for interpretive analyses of global developments and focal point for policy issues and activities of the Intelligence Community FWS, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service - an agency in the Department of the Interior that conserves and protects fish and wildlife and their habitats; assesses the environmental impact of pesticides and nuclear power site and hydroelectric dams and thermal pollution |
| 2. | agency - a business that serves other businesses business, business concern, business organisation, business organization, concern - a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it; "he bought his brother's business"; "a small mom-and-pop business"; "a racially integrated business concern" ad agency, advertising agency - an agency that designs advertisement to call public attention to its clients credit bureau - a private firm that maintains consumer credit data files and provides credit information to authorized users for a fee detective agency - an agency that makes inquiries for its clients employment agency, employment office - an agency that finds people to fill particular jobs or finds jobs for unemployed people commercial agency, mercantile agency - an organization that provides businesses with credit ratings of other firms; "Dun & Bradstreet is the largest mercantile agency in the United States" news agency, news organisation, news organization, press agency, press association, wire service - an agency to collects news reports for newspapers and distributes it electronically service agency, service bureau, service firm - a business that makes its facilities available to others for a fee; achieves economy of scale travel agency - an agency that arranges personal travel transfer agent - an agency (usually a bank) that is appointed by a corporation to keep records of its stock and bond owners and to resolve problems about certificates | |
| 3. | agency - the state of being in action or exerting power; "the agency of providence"; "she has free agency" activeness, activity, action - the state of being active; "his sphere of activity"; "he is out of action" Frankenstein - an agency that escapes control and destroys its creator | |
| 4. |  agency - the state of serving as an official and authorized delegate or agentstate - the way something is with respect to its main attributes; "the current state of knowledge"; "his state of health"; "in a weak financial state" free agency - (sports) the state of a professional athlete who is free to negotiate a contract to play for any team legal representation - personal representation that has legal status; "an person who has been declared incompetent should have legal representation" virus - a harmful or corrupting agency; "bigotry is a virus that must not be allowed to spread"; "the virus of jealousy is latent in everyone" | |
| 5. | agency - how a result is obtained or an end is achieved; "a means of control"; "an example is the best agency of instruction"; "the true way to success" effectuation, implementation - the act of implementing (providing a practical means for accomplishing something); carrying into effect dint - interchangeable with `means' in the expression `by means of' escape - a means or way of escaping; "hard work was his escape from worry"; "they installed a second hatch as an escape"; "their escape route" fast track - a rapid means of achieving a goal; "they saw independence as the fast track to democracy"; "he took a fast track to the top of the corporate ladder"; "the company went off the fast track when the stock market dropped" instrument, tool - the means whereby some act is accomplished; "my greed was the instrument of my destruction"; "science has given us new tools to fight disease" road - a way or means to achieve something; "the road to fame" stepping stone - any means of advancement; "the job was just a stepping stone on his way to fame and riches" expedient - a means to an end; not necessarily a principled or ethical one desperate measure - desperate actions taken as a means to an end; "he had to resort to desperate measures" open sesame - any very successful means of achieving a result salvation - a means of preserving from harm or unpleasantness; "tourism was their economic salvation"; "they turned to individualism as their salvation" tooth - a means of enforcement; "the treaty had no teeth in it" voice - a means or agency by which something is expressed or communicated; "the voice of the law"; "the Times is not the voice of New York"; "conservatism has many voices" wings - a means of flight or ascent; "necessity lends wings to inspiration" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
agency
noun
1. business, company, office, firm, department, organization, enterprise, establishment, bureau a successful advertising agency
2. (Old-fashioned) medium, work, means, force, power, action, operation, activity, influence, vehicle, instrument, intervention, mechanism, efficiency, mediation, auspices, intercession, instrumentality a negotiated settlement through the agency of the UN
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
agency
noun1. That by which something is accomplished or some end achieved:
agent, instrument, instrumentality, instrumentation, intermediary, mean (used in plural), mechanism, medium, organ.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
وَكَالَةوَكَالَه
agentura
bureauagentur
-toimisto
agencija
ügynökség
umboîsfyrirtæki, umboî
代理店
대행사
agentúra
agencijaurad
agentur
บริษัทตัวแทน
đại lý
agency
[ˈeɪdʒənsɪ]A. N
2. (= branch) → delegación f
3. (= institution) → organismo m
International Atomic Energy Agency → Organismo m Internacional de Energía Atómica
International Atomic Energy Agency → Organismo m Internacional de Energía Atómica
4. (= mediation) through the agency of → por medio de, por la mediación de
B. CPD Agency for International Development N (US) → Agencia f para el Desarrollo Internacional
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
agency
[ˈeɪdʒənsi] n (= organization) → agence f
(= means) through the agency of, by the agency of → par l'entremise de, par l'action deagency nurse n → infirmier/ère m/f intérimaire
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
agency
n
(Comm) → Agentur f; (= subsidiary of a company) → Geschäftsstelle f; translation/tourist agency → Übersetzungs-/Reisebüro nt; this garage is or has the Citroën agency → dies ist eine Citroën-Vertragswerkstätte, diese Werkstatt ist eine or hat die Citroën-Vertretung
(= instrumentality) through the agency of friends → durch die Vermittlung von Freunden, durch Freunde; by the agency of water → mithilfe or mit Hilfe von Wasser, durch Wasser; to attribute something to the agency of Providence → etw der Vorsehung (dat) → zuschreiben
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
agent
(ˈeidʒənt) noun1. a person or thing that acts. detergents and other cleaning agents.
2. a person who acts for someone in business etc. our agent in London; a theatrical agent.
3. (especially secret agent) a spy. an agent for the Russians.
ˈagency – plural ˈagencies – noun the office or business of an agent. an advertising agency.
by/through the agency of by the action of. The meeting was arranged through the agency of a friend.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
agency
→ وَكَالَة agentura bureau Agentur γραφείο agencia -toimisto agence agencija agenzia 代理店 대행사 agentschap byrå agencja agência агентство agentur บริษัทตัวแทน ajans đại lý 机构Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
agency
n (pl -cies) agenciaEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.