Meaning & use
represent
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To speak, act, or make decisions officially for another person or a group.
Grammar: Takes an object: a lawyer represents a client.
Patterns
- represent someone
- represent a company
- represent a constituency
Our union represents workers in contract talks.
The lawyer agreed to represent the family in court.
verbtransitive
To be a symbol, sign, image, or typical example of something.
Grammar: Takes an object meaning the thing symbolized: the dove represents peace.
Patterns
- represent an idea
- represent a country
- represent something symbolically
On the map, blue lines represent rivers.
The athlete felt she represented her whole school at the meet.
verbtransitiveformal
To amount to or form a particular share, number, or part of a total.
Grammar: Takes an object and is common in reports and figures.
Patterns
- represent a percentage
- represent a large share
- represent growth
Women represent half of the new employees this year.
Exports now represent about a fifth of national income.
verbtransitive
To describe or present someone or something in a particular, sometimes unfair, way.
Grammar: Often passive or in represent something as something.
Patterns
- represent someone as something
- be represented as
- represent fairly
The article represented him as careless and unreliable.
She objected to being represented as dishonest.
Word forms
| third person singular | represents |
|---|---|
| past tense | represented |
| past participle | represented |
| -ing form | representing |
Common combinations
- represent a client
- The firm agreed to represent the client at no charge.
- represent an idea
- In the story, the river represents freedom.
- represent a country
- She was proud to represent her country abroad.
- accurately represent
- The survey accurately represents public opinion in the region.
Synonyms and how they differ
- symbolize
- Symbolize is only about standing for an idea or quality; represent can also mean act on someone’s behalf.
- depict
- Depict means show in words or pictures; represent is broader and can include official action.
- constitute
- Constitute means form or make up a whole, used like represent for shares of a total.
Word family
- representative noun
- A person chosen to speak or act for others.
- representative adjective
- Typical of a larger group.
- representation noun
- The act of representing or the way something is shown.
Commonly confused: represent or present?
represent vs present
Represent means act for or stand for something; present means give, show, or introduce.
Practice
“In this chart, each red bar ___ average rainfall for one year.”
Choose one answer.
Represent is transitive here and takes a direct object: each bar represents rainfall. Adding to, for, or with is ungrammatical in this pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “represent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.