representative

Universal Words noun, adjective noun ~ (of sb/sth) 1 a person who has been chosen to speak or vote for sb else or on behalf of a group: a representative of the UN * our elected representatives in government * a student / union representative * The committee includes representatives from industry. 2 (also informal rep) a person who works for a company and travels around selling its products: a sales representative * She's our representative in France. 3 a person chosen to take the place of sb else: He was the Queen's representative at the ceremony. 4 a person who is typical of a particular group: The singer is regarded as a representative of the youth of her generation. 5 (Representative) (abbreviation Rep.) (in the US) a member of the House of Representatives, the Lower House of Congress; a member of the House of Representatives in the lower house of a state parliament adjective 1 ~ (of sb/sth) typical of a particular group of people: Is a questionnaire answered by 500 people truly representative of the population as a whole? * The paper-thin models in magazines are not representative of most women. 2 [usuallybeforenoun] containing or including examples of all the different types of people or things in a large group: a representative sample of teachers 3 ~ (of sth) able to be used as a typical example of sth: The painting is not representative of his work of the period. 4 (of a system of government, etc.) consisting of people who have been chosen to speak or vote on behalf of the rest of a group: a representative democracy OPPUNREPRESENTATIVE