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Definition of agency noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

agency

noun
 
/ˈeɪdʒənsi/
 
/ˈeɪdʒənsi/
(plural agencies)
Idioms
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  1. a business or an organization that provides a particular service especially when representing other businesses or organizations
    • She works for an advertising agency.
    • through an agency He managed to find a job through an agency.
    see also aid agency, credit agency, dating agency, employment agency, news agency, travel agency
    Extra Examples
    • I've signed up with a temping agency.
    • Details of the problem will be logged by the Help Desk staff who will then contact the appropriate agency.
    Topics Businessb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • official
    • federal
    • government
    preposition
    • through an/​the agency
    See full entry
  2. a government department that provides a particular service
    • law enforcement agencies
    • Some laboratories are operated by government agencies.
    Topics Politicsb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • official
    • federal
    • government
    preposition
    • through an/​the agency
    See full entry
  3. Word Originmid 17th cent.: from medieval Latin agentia, from agent- ‘doing’, from agere.
Idioms
through the agency of
  1. (formal) as a result of the action of somebody/something
    • He obtained his position through the agency of an old friend.
See agency in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee agency in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
sufficiently
adverb
 
 
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