agency Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an administrative unit of government
    office; authority; bureau; federal agency; government agency.
    • the Central Intelligence Agency
    • the Census Bureau
    • Office of Management and Budget
    • Tennessee Valley Authority
  2. noun a business that serves other businesses
  3. noun the state of being in action or exerting power
    • the agency of providence
    • she has free agency
  4. noun the state of serving as an official and authorized delegate or agent
    representation; delegacy.
  5. noun how a result is obtained or an end is achieved
    way; means.
    • a means of control
    • an example is the best agency of instruction
    • the true way to success

WordNet

A"gen*cy noun
Etymology
agentia, fr. L. agens, agentis: cf. F. agence. See Agent.
Wordforms
plural Agencies
Definitions
  1. The faculty of acting or of exerting power; the state of being in action; action; instrumentality.
    The superintendence and agency of Providence in the natural world. Woodward.
  2. The office of an agent, or factor; the relation between a principal and his agent; business of one intrusted with the concerns of another.
  3. The place of business of am agent. Syn. -- Action; operation; efficiency; management.

Webster 1913