plural noun
People chosen or appointed to speak, act, or make decisions for a group, organization, or area.
The elected representatives voted on the new law.
Local representatives met with residents to discuss the plan.
American English
How to pronounce representatives
nounB2Common word
rehprihZEHnuhdihvz
/ˌɹɛp.ɹɪˈzɛ.nə.ɾɪvz/
5 syllables · Stress the third syllable.
Form of representative
People chosen or appointed to speak, act, or make decisions for a group, organization, or area.
What to listen for
The full pronunciation is /ˌɹɛp.ɹɪˈzɛn.tə.ɾɪvz/. In natural American speech, the /t/ may disappear, so you may also hear /ˌɹɛp.ɹɪˈzɛ.nə.ɾɪvz/.
Full form/ˌɹɛp.ɹɪˈzɛn.tə.ɾɪvz/
Common natural-speech variant/ˌɹɛp.ɹɪˈzɛ.nə.ɾɪvz/
Meanings & examples
plural noun
Employees who deal directly with customers for a company, especially by selling products or providing help.
Several customer service representatives answered my questions.
The company's sales representatives visited the store.
Useful expressions
a person whose job is to sell a company's products or services
A sales representative called about our account.
an employee who helps customers with questions or problems
The customer service representative refunded my money.
a small group chosen to reflect the qualities of a larger group
The survey used a representative sample of city residents.