- 1[often passive] represent somebody/something to be a member of a group of people and act or speak on their behalf at an event, a meeting, etc. The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. Local businesses are well represented on the committee (= there are a lot of people from them on the committee). The opening speech was by Bob Alan representing Amnesty International. The President was represented at the ceremony by the Vice President.
- 2represent somebody/something to act or speak officially for someone and defend their interests The union represents over 200,000 teachers. The association was formed to represent the interests of women artists. Ms. Dale is representing the defendant (= is his/her lawyer) in the case. As a councilmember, it is my duty to represent my constituents.
- 3linking verb + noun (not used in the progressive tenses) to be something synonym constitute This contract represents 20% of the company's annual revenue. This decision represents a significant departure from previous policy. He got rid of anyone who represented a challenge to his authority. The peace plan represents (= is the result of) weeks of negotiation. These results represent a major breakthrough in AIDS research. be example of
- 4[no passive] represent something to be an example or expression of something synonym typical a project representing all that is good in the community Those comments do not represent the views of us all. be symbol
- 5represent something (not used in the progressive tenses) to be a symbol of something synonym symbolize Each color on the chart represents a different department. Wind direction is represented by arrows. The artist uses doves to represent peace. in picture
- 6represent somebody/something (as somebody/something) represent somebody/something doing something to show someone or something, especially in a picture synonym depict The carvings represent a hunting scene. The Egyptian goddess is represented as a woman with cow's horns. The map represents Italy in the 12th century. The results are represented in fig. 3 below. describe
- 7represent somebody (as something) (formal) to present or describe someone or something in a particular way, especially when this may not be fair The king is represented as a villain in the play. The risks were represented as negligible.
- 8represent something (to somebody) represent that… (formal) to make a formal statement to someone in authority in order to make your opinions known or to protest They represented their concerns to the authorities.
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NAmE//ˌrɛprɪˈzɛnt//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they represent he / she / it represents
past simple represented
-ing form representing
Check pronunciation: represent