representative

noun

plural representatives

1

: someone or something that represents another or others: such as

a(1)

: someone who represents a constituency as a member of a legislative body

(2)

: a member of the house of representatives of the U.S. Congress or a state legislature

state representatives

b

: someone who represents another as agent, deputy, substitute, or delegate usually being invested with the authority of the principal

c

: someone who represents a business organization

a sales representative

d

: someone who represents a social group sharing an affiliation or culture

Various representatives of community resources and cultures assisted in deepening the recruits' understanding of the community, its people, available services, and fostering connections with local non-profit organizations.

—Marla Poirier

e(1)

: someone who represents another as successor or heir

(2)

: personal representative

f

: one named as the plaintiff or the defendant in a class action to litigate on behalf of the persons having an identical interest

2

: a typical example of a group, class, or quality : specimen

Synonyms of representative

• delegate
• deputy
• agent
• attorney
• manager
• rep
• ambassador
• minister

Examples of representative in a Sentence

Do you know who your representatives are?

The bill was introduced by Representative Smith.

a representative of her age group

Recent Examples on the Web

Both men, through their representatives, denied the allegations in statements to ABC News. —James Hill, ABC News, 4 June 2026

Residents are packing themselves into local county meetings in incredible numbers and calling on their representatives to oppose gargantuan data center projects, developments that could cause electricity prices to spike, drain water supplies, and generate copious amounts of noise. —Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 4 June 2026

Threats to ‘throat punch’ staffers This spring, the county released the findings of two personnel investigations into Curtis’ conduct that were spurred by concerns raised by elections employees and their union representatives. —Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026

The future representative of the district will be decided in November. —Mathew Miranda june 4, Sacbee.com, 4 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1635, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing representative

• personal representative
• representative democracy

Rhymes for representative

• argumentative
• augmentative
• fermentative
• presentative
• preventative
• tentative
• unrepresentative

Kids Definition

representative

1 of 2 adjective

rep·​re·​sen·​ta·​tive ˌrep-ri-ˈzent-ət-iv 

1

: serving to represent

a painting representative of a battle

2

: standing or acting for another especially through delegated authority

3

: of, based upon, or being a government in which the people are represented by persons chosen from among them usually by election

4

: serving as a typical example of the thing mentioned

a representative athlete

representatively adverb

representativeness noun

representative

2 of 2 noun

1

: a typical example of a group, class, or quality

2

: one that represents another or others : delegate

especially : a member of the house of representatives of the U.S. Congress or a state legislature

Legal Definition

representative

1 of 2 adjective

rep·​re·​sen·​ta·​tive

1

: serving to represent

2

a

: standing or acting for another especially through delegated authority

an agent acting in a representative capacity

b

: of, based on, or constituting a government in which the people are represented by individuals chosen from among them usually by election

3

: of or relating to representation

representative

2 of 2 noun

: one that represents another or others in a special capacity: as

a

: one that represents a constituency as a member of a legislative or other governing body

specifically : a member of the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress or a state legislature

b

: one that represents another as agent, deputy, substitute, or delegate and that usually is invested with the authority of the principal

c

: one that represents or stands in the place of a deceased person : personal representative

d

: one that represents another as successor or heir

e

: one named as the plaintiff or defendant in a class action to litigate on behalf of the class