Word family noun representation representative adjective representative ≠ unrepresentative representational verb represent
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishrepresentrep‧re‧sent /ˌreprɪˈzent/ ●●● S2 W1 verb 1 speak for somebody [transitive]REPRESENT to officially speak or take action for another person or group of people Mr Kobayashi was chosen to represent the company at the conference.2 in courtREPRESENT [transitive] to speak officially for someone in a court of lawrepresent yourself She decided to represent herself (=speak for herself without a lawyer) during the trial.3 be something [linking verb] to form or be something → amount to European orders represented 30 percent of our sales last year.represent a change/an advance/an increase etc This treatment represents a significant advance in the field of cancer research.4 government [transitive]PGP to have been elected to a parliament, council etc by the people in a particular area He represents the Congressional District of Illinois.5 sign [transitive] to be a sign or mark that means something SYN stand for Brown areas represent deserts on the map. 6 symbol [transitive] to be a symbol of something SYN symbolize He hated the school and everything it represented.7 sports [transitive] if you represent your country, school, town etc in a sport, you take part in a sports event for that country etc Her greatest ambition was to represent her country at the Olympics.8 → be represented9 describe [transitive]DESCRIBE to describe someone or something in a particular way, especially in a way that is not true SYN portray, → depictrepresent somebody/something as something The article represents the millionaire as a simple family man. He had represented himself as an employee in order to gain access to the files.► see thesaurus at describe10 art [transitive]MEANING if a painting, statue, piece of music etc represents something or someone, it shows them Paintings representing religious themes were common in medieval times.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
represent• There is no doubt that this new type of tyre represents a major advance in road safety.• This approach stems from a strongly held belief that voluntary action represents a major force for positive environmental change.• Einstein's theory represented a significant departure from previous theories.• Trade Unions representing ambulance workers yesterday agreed to accept a 5% pay increase.• The dummies represent average-sized adult males.• The athletes will represent China in this year's Olympic Games.• Single letters or combinations of letters represent different phonetic sounds.• The new law has been criticized by groups representing disabled people.• Wilson was represented in court by a top criminal lawyer.• It represents one of his assignations.• The red lines on the map represent railways.• As a top agent, Ovitz represented some of Hollywood's biggest stars.• Who is representing the defendant?• the Congressman who represents the taxpayers of District 1• Between them, Ickes and Morris represent the uneasy coalition of the Democratic base and centrists that Clinton requires for victory.• Each class will elect two students to represent them on the School Council.• I wanted to spend my whole life representing these guys.• Over the course of the preoperational stage, children increasingly attempt to represent things through drawings and their efforts become more realistic.• None of the other defendants are represented yet, Singh said.represent yourself• I really believe that we would get an attorney and we would represent ourselves.• Power that comes from who you are and how you represent yourself and behave towards others is highly contagious.• Kirkpatrick wants to represent himself and has asked for a lawyer to assist him, according to the petition filed Thursday.• She would represent herself as an angel of light and make her kind master and benefactor a devil incarnate.• Photographers often represented themselves as having the same problems as painters.• This will also apply where the child intends to represent himself in the proceedings and is capable of doing so.• He thought your freelance Mrs Howard represented the same thing that he thinks he represents himself: the defence of this country.represent somebody/something as something• The article represents the millionaire as a simple family man• The poll represented college students as mainly uninterested in politics.From Longman Business Dictionaryrepresentrep‧re‧sent /ˌreprɪˈzent/ verb [transitive]1to speak or go somewhere officially in order to state the views, opinions etc of another person or group of peopleWorkers hired during the strike are opposed to being represented by the union.A Baltimore law firm will represent the company in the case.2if something represents a proportion of something else, it is equal to itThe sale represents only 1.6% of the company’s average daily production.Russia represented 85% of the market for Czech exports.3if part of a graph, chart etc represents something, it shows that informationThe blue line represents the target income for the planning period.→ See Verb tableOrigin represent (1300-1400) Old French representer, from Latin repraesentare, from praesentare; → PRESENT2 