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Glite Dictionary
commercial agency

commercial agency

3.6
A company that gives businesses information about other companies, like credit ratings
  • noun
  • /kəˈmɜrʃəl ˈeɪdʒənsi/
translation icon : agencia comercial
  • The company hired a commercial agency to assess their potential partners’ financial reliability.

Examples

  • Many exporters rely on a commercial agency for up-to-date information on foreign buyers.

  • Many businesses rely on a commercial agency for credit ratings.

  • Dun & Bradstreet is a well-known commercial agency that helps businesses evaluate risk.

  • The commercial agency provided valuable insights.

  • Dun & Bradstreet is a well-known commercial agency that helps businesses evaluate risk.

  • Many exporters rely on a commercial agency for up-to-date information on foreign buyers.

  • The company hired a commercial agency to assess their potential partners' financial reliability.

Synonyms

mercantile agency
vscommercial agency
7.7

A company that gives businesses information about other companies' ability to pay bills

focuses on formal credit ratings as specific evaluative scores rather than broad assessment

Surface Forms

commercial agency singular
commercial agencies plural

Morphology

commercial + agency

The meaning is largely compositional: 'commercial' (relating to business/trade) + 'agency' (a firm offering services) yields an agency that deals with commercial or business matters, which a B1 learner would generally infer. However, the specific service gloss (providing information such as credit ratings about other firms) is a more specialized interpretation that is not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

The noun commercial agency comes from the simple picture of agency, an office or helper, working for commercial people, meaning 'businesses'. Imagine a small office that checks other firms and sends reports so a company can decide who to trust. That's why commercial agency means an organization that gives 'businesses' information like credit ratings.