agency

agency — noun

1. a private company that arranges things on behalf of customers, such as travel, j

1.nounB1
Definition

a private company that arranges things on behalf of customers, such as travel, jobs, advertising, or houses to rent — for example, a travel agency books flights and hotels for you.

Example

Xander found her summer internship through a small recruitment agency in Taipei.

collocation: recruitment agency

The travel agency on Zhongxiao Road booked our flights and hotel in Osaka.

collocation: travel agency

Common collocations
  • travel agency
  • recruitment agency
  • advertising agency
  • estate agency
  • modeling agency
  • news agency
Synonyms
  • firm

    broader; any company, not just one acting for clients

  • bureau

    often used for information or news services

  • office

    more general; any workplace location

Grammar Patterns

a/an + agency

agency + for + noun

Usage Note

Almost always preceded by a modifier that names the service (travel, recruitment, advertising, estate, modeling). Bare 'an agency' without context is rare.

Common Mistakes

I work at an agency' (with no context).
I work at a travel agency.
English speakers expect a modifier saying what kind of agency.

2. an official department set up by a government to carry out a specific public tas

2.nounC1
Definition

an official department set up by a government to carry out a specific public task, such as protecting the environment, collecting taxes, or running spy operations.

Example

The Environmental Protection Agency fined the factory for dumping waste into the river.

proper-noun pattern: [Topic] + Agency

Three federal agencies are investigating the bank for hiding money from foreign clients.

plural: federal agencies

Common collocations
  • government agency
  • federal agency
  • intelligence agency
  • regulatory agency
  • aid agency
Synonyms
  • department

    usually a unit within a ministry; broader scope

  • bureau

    common in American government names (e.g. FBI)

  • authority

    stresses official power to regulate

Grammar Patterns

proper noun + Agency

government agency

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: a government agency is funded by the state and serves the public; a business agency (sense 1) is private and serves paying clients. In proper names, capitalised: 'the Central Intelligence Agency'.

Common Mistakes

I went to the agency to get a passport.
I went to the government agency to get a passport.
without 'government', readers may assume a private business.

3. the power someone has to make their own decisions and shape their own life — for

3.nounC2
Definition

the power someone has to make their own decisions and shape their own life — for example, a child who is allowed to pick their own clothes is gaining agency.

Example

After the accident, Mateo worked hard to recover his sense of agency over daily tasks.

collocation: sense of agency

The novel shows how the village women slowly gained agency in family decisions.

gain agency in + noun

Common collocations
  • sense of agency
  • human agency
  • personal agency
  • gain agency
  • lack agency
Synonyms
Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

a sense of agency

personal/human agency

Usage Note

Uncountable in this sense — never 'an agency' or 'agencies'. Common in academic, social-science, and self-help writing. Frequent collocates: 'sense of', 'human', 'personal', 'gain', 'have', 'lack', 'over'.

Common Mistakes

She gained an agency over her own life.
She gained agency over her own life.
uncountable, no 'a/an' or plural.

4. the means by which something happens, named with the phrase 'through the agency

4.nounC2
Definition

the means by which something happens, named with the phrase 'through the agency of' to point at the person or thing that brought the result about.

Example

The peace deal was reached through the agency of a respected Norwegian diplomat.

fixed phrase: through the agency of

Seeds travel from island to island through the agency of seabirds and ocean currents.

agency of + natural force

Common collocations
  • through the agency of
  • by the agency of
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

through the agency of + noun

by the agency of + noun

Usage Note

Almost only seen inside the fixed phrase 'through/by the agency of …'. Formal and slightly old-fashioned; in everyday writing, prefer 'through' or 'with the help of'.

Common Mistakes

The deal happened by agency of a diplomat.
The deal happened through the agency of a diplomat.
the determiner 'the' is required inside this fixed phrase.
Idioms

through the agency of

idiom

Happening because of someone's help or action.

Maya found her lost cat through the agency of a kind neighbor.

Did you get the job through the agency of your former boss?

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words name a place where business is done, but they differ in scope and connotation. An 'agency' acts on behalf of clients — a travel agency books your flights, a recruitment agency finds you a job. A 'firm' is any commercial company, especially in law, consulting, or accounting; firms work for clients too, but the focus is on professional expertise rather than arranging things. A 'bureau' is older and narrower, often tied to information services (a news bureau, a credit bureau) or, in American English, parts of government (the FBI). 'Office' is the most general and just names the workplace itself, regardless of what is sold there. Compare: 'She runs a travel agency' (arranges trips) vs. 'She runs a law firm' (gives legal advice) vs. 'She runs the local news bureau' (gathers news for a wider network).

agency ↗firm ↗bureau ↗office ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • agency staff
  • agency worker
  • agency fee
  • agency head

Phrases

  • set up an agency
  • run an agency
  • work for an agency
  • hire an agency

Prepositions

  • agency for
  • agency of
  • through an agency
  • at an agency

Etymology

LatinMedieval LatinEnglish

From Medieval Latin 'agentia', meaning 'doing' or 'action', built on Latin 'agere' (to do, to drive). The word entered English in the early 1600s, first meaning the act or power of doing something — the meaning preserved in sense 3 (power to act) and sense 4 (through the agency of). The senses about offices and businesses (1 and 2) grew later in the 1600s and 1700s, as 'a place where someone acts on another's behalf' became 'an organisation set up to act on others' behalf'.