agency

noun

agen·​cy ˈā-jən(t)-sē 

plural agencies

1

a

: the office or function of an agent (see agent sense 4)

b

: the relationship between a principal and that person's agent

2

: the capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power : operation

3

: a person or thing through which power is exerted or an end is achieved : instrumentality

communicated through the agency of the ambassador

4

: an establishment engaged in doing business for another

an advertising agency

5

: an administrative division (as of a government)

the agency for consumer protection

Synonyms

• department
• bureau
• office
• service

Examples of agency in a Sentence

the federal agency in charge of printing money

The employment agency helps those who have been recently laid off find jobs.

Recent Examples on the Web

The group’s 900-page policy agenda gained the most attention, proposing a policy blueprint for all major federal agencies that pushed controversial right-wing policies and sought to give the president more power by replacing career civil servants with presidential appointees. —Alison Durkee, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025

The parent agency of ICE and the Border Patrol stands to gain $169 billion under the current bill, more than doubling the department's current budget of $68 billion. —Bart Jansen, USA Today, 1 July 2025

The Los Angeles Lakers have been surrounded with rumors heading into NBA free agency. —Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 July 2025

The agency’s dismantling began just days after President Donald Trump returned to the White House at the start of this year. —Chad De Guzman, Time, 1 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

ag(ent) + -ency, perhaps after Medieval Latin agentia, derivative of agent-, agens agent

First Known Use

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing agency

• ad agency
• advertising agency
• agency shop
• dating agency
• employment agency
• inter-agency
• news agency
• press agency
• sub-agency
• through the agency of
• ticket agency
• travel agency

Rhymes for agency

• interagency

Kids Definition

agency

noun

agen·​cy ˈā-jən-sē 

plural agencies

1

: the office or function of an agent

2

: a person or thing through which power is used or something is achieved : means

3

: an establishment doing business for another

an insurance agency

4

: a part of a government that manages projects in a certain area

a health agency

Legal Definition

agency

noun

agen·​cy

plural agencies

1

: the person or thing through which power is exerted or an end is achieved

death by criminal agency

—W. R. LaFave and A. W. Scott, Jr.

2

a

: a consensual fiduciary relationship in which one party acts on behalf of and under the control of another in dealing with third parties

also : the power of one in such a relationship to act on behalf of another

Note: A principal is bound by and liable for acts of his or her agent that are within the scope of the agency.

— actual agency

: the agency that exists when an agent is in fact employed by a principal see also express agency and implied agency in this entry

— agency by estoppel

: an agency that is not created as an actual agency by a principal and an agent but that is imposed by law when a principal acts in such a way as to lead a third party to reasonably believe that another is the principal's agent and the third party is injured by relying on and acting in accordance with that belief

Note: A principal has a duty to correct a third party's mistaken belief in an agent's authority to act on the principal's behalf. If the principal could have corrected the misunderstanding but failed to do so, he or she is estopped from denying the existence of the agency and is bound by the agent's acts in dealing with the third party.

— agency coupled with an interest

: an agency in which the agent has an interest in the property regarding which he or she is acting on the principal's behalf

— apparent agency

: agency by estoppel in this entry

— exclusive agency

: an agency common in real estate sales in which the property owner agrees to employ no agents to sell the property other than the one hired for a specified period

— express agency

: an actual agency created by the written or spoken words of the principal authorizing the agent to act compare implied agency in this entry

— general agency

: an agency in which the agent is authorized to perform on behalf of the principal in all matters in furtherance of a particular business of the principal compare special agency in this entry

— implied agency

: an actual agency created by acts of a principal that reasonably imply an intention to create an agency relationship compare express agency in this entry

— ostensible agency

: agency by estoppel in this entry

— special agency

: an agency in which the agent is authorized to perform only specified acts or to act only in a specified transaction compare general agency in this entry

— universal agency

: general agency in this entry

b

: the office and function of an agent

even when granted discretion in carrying out his agency

—R. C. Clark

c

: the law concerned with the relationship of a principal and an agent

3

: an establishment engaged in doing the business of another: as

a

: an establishment authorized by an insurance company to sell insurance policies and provide services offered by the insurer

b

: an establishment authorized by property owners to find a buyer for their property

Note: Many businesses that use the term agency are not truly agencies as defined in sense 2.

4

: a department or other unit of government created by legislation to administer the law in a particular area of public concern

called also administrative agency

see also enabling statute, exhaustion of remedies, Administrative Procedure Act

Note: When a legislature determines that government involvement is needed in a particular social activity or problem, it may write legislation creating an agency either directly or by authorizing the executive to set it up. Agencies exist at the federal, state, and local levels. Most federal agencies are attached to the executive branch of government. Some agencies (such as the Environmental Protection Agency) are called an agency. An agency may, however, be called such other names as board (as the National Labor Relations Board), commission (as the Securities and Exchange Commission), administration (as the Social Security Administration), and service (as the Internal Revenue Service). Agencies at the federal level are governed by the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, which is found at title 5 of the U.S. Code.

— independent agency

: an agency that is not part of any of the three branches of government

— regulatory agency

: an agency that is authorized by the legislature to establish and enforce rules regulating its particular area of concern —often used interchangeably with agency or administrative agency