Oxford Business English Dictionary for Learners of English

see also: ad agency, advertising collection commercial commercial collection credit credit rating-, etc.

3 (Law) [U] the situation that exists where sb (the agent) agrees to sth or does sth as the representative of sb else (the principal): The clause states that no partnership or agency relationship was created, о the law of agency

'agency .broker noun [c] (AmE) (Property; Stock Exchange) a person or an organization that buys or sells shares or property for sb else broker

'agency .labour (AmEspelling- labor) noun [u] (especially AmE)

(HR) workers in a company or an organization who have been employed through an employment agency (= a business that finds workers for companies), usually for temporary work

agenda /a'd3enda/ noun [C] see also: hidden agenda

a list of topics to be discussed at a meeting: The next item on the agenda is the publicity budget, о The meeting has no formal agenda. See note at meeting

the things that sb thinks are important and wants to achieve; a plan of action: In our company, quality is high on the agenda, о Some managers pursue their own agenda without considering their staff.

agent /'eid3ant/ noun [c]

see also: bargaining agent, business buying change commercial commission customs

etc.

a person or a company that is paid by another person or company to do business for them, especially in discussing a contract, buying or selling, or finding work in entertainment or publishing: The director was acting as agent for the shareholders in trying to sell their shares, о You can hire an agent to negotiate on your behalf.

principal

a person who sells a service or product for one or more companies: an independent insurance agent о The company has 31 overseas agents and distributors, о There have been complaints over the methods of some of their sales agents.

WHICH WORD?

agent/broker/sales representative/ dealer

All these people have jobs that involve buying or selling things.

An agent is given authority to carry out a particular piece of business on somebody's behalf. For example, an estate agent (AmE real estate agent) is given authority to sell a house for somebody.

A broker is usually a person who buys and sells investments or financial products on behalf of others: Ask your broker to explain the difference between the mortgages.

Both agents and brokers work independently or as part of their own companies (called agencies and brokerages) and receive a fee for their services.

Dealers usually buy and sell a particular type of product: an art/a car/diamond dealer.

A sales representative (often shortened to representative, or more informally, a sales rep or rep) works as an employee of a company, selling their goods or services to people in a particular area: We have representatives in over 50 countries.

agent bank noun [c] [Finance)

(also 'lead bank) a bank that organizes a loan for a person or a company and represents the group of banks who lend the money

a bank in a foreign country that an investor has an account with in order to be able to make cash payments in a foreign currency

,agent of 'change (plural agents of change)

= change agent

.agent of ne'cessity noun [c, usually sing.] (Law) a person who acts for sb else in an emergency but does not have a formal right to do so 'age .profile noun [c, usually sing.] (HR; Marketing) a description of the number of people of different ages who buy a particular product or who work in an organization: The female workforce had a different age profile from that of the male.

aggregate noun, adjective, verb

noun /'aegrigat/ [C, usually sing.]

the total number or amount made up of smaller amounts that are collected together: She has now purchased an aggregate of 16% of the company's shares.

ГТ7ГПin (the) 'aggregate (formal) added together as a total or single amount: Businesses are, in the aggregate, deeper in debt thah ever before.