Meaning & use
a rep
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Meanings
nouncountableinformal
A person who speaks or acts for a company or group, especially in sales.
Grammar: Countable: 'a rep', 'three reps'. Often used with 'for': 'a rep for the company'.
Patterns
- a sales rep
- a rep for a company
- talk to a rep
I spoke to a rep from the phone company about my bill.
She works as a sales rep for a large drug company.
If you have a problem, ask to speak to a customer service rep.
noununcountableinformal
The opinion that people have of someone or something based on past behavior.
Grammar: Uncountable: you say 'good rep' or 'bad rep', not 'a rep' in this sense. It is short for 'reputation'.
Patterns
- have a good/bad rep
- get a rep for something
That restaurant has a really good rep for its pizza.
He got a bad rep after the incident at work.
The school has a rep for being strict.
nouncountableinformalsport
A single exercise movement, especially in weightlifting.
Grammar: Countable: 'do ten reps'. Short for 'repetition'.
Patterns
- do reps
- ten reps of something
The trainer told me to do three sets of ten reps.
I can only do five reps with this weight.
She increased her reps slowly each week.
Word forms
| plural | reps |
|---|
Common combinations
- a sales rep
- A sales rep visited our office to show us the new software.
- a customer service rep
- The customer service rep was very helpful and fixed my problem.
- a union rep
- The union rep talked to management about the new schedule.
- have a good rep
- That café has a good rep for fresh cakes.
- do ten reps
- For this exercise, do ten reps and then rest.
Synonyms and how they differ
- representative
- This is the full, formal word. 'Rep' is the short, informal version used in everyday speech.
- reputation
- This is the full word for the 'opinion people have' sense. 'Rep' is the informal shortening.
- repetition
- In exercise, 'repetition' is the full word for one movement. 'Rep' is the short form.
Word family
- represent verb
- To act or speak officially for someone or something.
- representative noun
- A person chosen to act or speak for a group.
Commonly confused: a rep or rep?
a rep vs rep
Be careful: 'rep' has three common meanings (salesperson, reputation, exercise movement). The context tells you which one is intended.
Practice
In which sentence does 'rep' mean 'reputation'?
Choose one answer.
In 'That hotel has a bad rep for being dirty', 'rep' means reputation — the opinion people have of the hotel. The other options refer to a person (a sales rep, a union rep) or an exercise movement (reps).
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a rep”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.