represent
Formsrepresents, representing, represented
- 1To act or speak officially for another person, a group, or a place, such as a lawyer for a client or an elected member for a district.
A skilled attorney will represent you throughout the trial.
An agent represents the author in all contract negotiations.
UsageThe person or place follows directly (represent a client), often in court or in talks; the passive is be represented by.
- 2To stand for something else, serving as its sign, symbol, or typical image.
On many flags, a single star can represent national unity.
In the diagram, each arrow represents a different force.
- 3To constitute or make up something; to be an example of it.
Imported goods represent nearly a third of total trade.
This discovery represents a major step forward for the field.
UsageOften with amounts and shares: represent a third of trade, represent half of the total.
Similarconstitute, form, mark
Note
The identifying and quantifying sense, where to represent is to amount to. In Penelope Walton Rogers's "Textile networks in Viking-age towns of Britain and Ireland", scratched stone and glass objects represent slickstones, which means the finds are identified as a known type. Figures work the same way, as when imports represent a third of trade. The verb is close to constitute here, not to symbolize.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Penelope Walton Rogers wrote "Textile networks in Viking-Age towns of Britain and Ireland". academia.edu
- The chapter appeared in Crafts and Social Networks in Viking Towns, released in November 2019. oxbowbooks.com
- The chapter identifies scratched stone and glass objects as slickstones using the verb "represent". academia.edu
- 4To play for a particular team, country, or club in a competition.
Three local athletes will represent the region at the national finals.
She represented her university in track events for four years.
UsageThe team or country follows directly, with no preposition: represent your country, but play for your country.
Note
Sport borrows the idea of standing in for a group: the athlete carries a place's or an institution's name into competition. The same verb that sends an elected member to a legislature sends a sprinter to the national finals.
- 5To portray something visually, as in a drawing, painting, or diagram.
The mural represents a stormy sea at night.
Early cartographers tried to represent the whole known world on a single sheet.
UsageOften represent something as something: the sun as a yellow circle.
Similardepict, portray, show, illustrate, render
- 6To describe something in words, often as having a particular character or quality.
Advertisements can represent the resort as a peaceful getaway.
Critics argued that the report represented the data misleadingly.
UsageUsually represent something as something, or represent that something is true; often used when the account's accuracy is in question.
Less common meanings
- 7To bring something before the mind so that it is known, felt, or understood, including recalling an image of it.
Memory represents past events to us, though rarely exactly as they happened.
Most people find it impossible to represent to themselves a space with four dimensions.
UsageOften represent something to someone, or to yourself.
- 8To act in a way that does credit to one's group or community; to acquit oneself well.
When they took the stage, the crew came to represent.
He always represents for the neighborhood that raised him.
UsageOften represent for a place or group, or alone: the crew came to represent.
Note
A usage from African-American Vernacular English that takes no object: to represent is to do your people proud. It is slang, often followed by for and a place or group, as in represent for your hometown, or used alone, as in the crew came to represent.
- 9To portray a person or character through acting or mimicry.
In the mime, two performers represent a couple arguing without saying a single word.
She represents several different characters throughout the one-woman show.
Similarplay
- 10To present something again, possibly in an altered or revised form.
- 11To come back for medical attention, presenting again with a complaint or symptoms.
- 12To play in a manner suggesting one holds a particular set of cards or has made a particular hand.
Practice
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Origin
It comes from Old French 'représenter', which in turn comes from the Latin 'repraesentō'.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- English represent comes from Old French représenter. en.wiktionary.org
- Old French représenter comes from Latin repraesentō. en.wiktionary.org