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Glite Dictionary
🤝 Person with broad powers 🧑‍💼 Insurance manager
general agent

general agent

6.5
A person who can manage many business matters for another person
  • noun
  • /ˈdʒɛnərəl ˈeɪdʒənt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : agente general
  • As a general agent, she was authorized to make decisions and handle all business matters for the principal.

Examples

  • The steamship lines had at their disposal a network of general agents and subagents on both sides of the Atlantic; the system developed in Scandinavia shortly after 1865.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Johnson also served as Scandinavian general agent for a long series of American railroad companies; he was Thingvalla's sole general agent from 1890 after Mortensen's departure.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Its general agent in America was from 1880.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Thingvalla had general agents in Gothenburg and Oslo, and like the other lines in the United States, it had hundreds of subagents on both sides of the Atlantic.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Johnson also served as Scandinavian general agent for a long series of American railroad companies; he was Thingvalla's sole general agent from 1890 after Mortensen's departure.

    Academic text (1993)

  • The general agent is responsible for negotiating contracts on behalf of the company.

  • The general agent managed various operations, ensuring everything was conducted smoothly for the client.

Synonyms

agent
vsgeneral agent
  • Formal
∞ 2.8

A person who helps and represents someone in business, legal, or official matters

has authority to handle all types of business rather than specific roles
universal agent
vsgeneral agent
  • Jargon
7.7

A person allowed to do all business for someone else

is more about having broad powers to act on the principal's behalf

Antonyms

special agent
  • US
37 3.5

A person allowed by law to do one specific task they are told to do

How Authorized

general agent
  • Specialized
6.5
representative
624 3.5
agent
  • Formal
∞ 2.8
special agent
  • US
37 3.5

Surface Forms

general agent singular
general agents plural

Morphology

general + agent

The meaning 'an agent with broad or wide authority' is directly derivable from combining 'general' (broad, overall) and 'agent' (representative). This is a compositional, non-idiomatic business/insurance term and follows common noun+modifier patterns (e.g., similar forms in other languages), so a B1 learner who knows both words would likely understand it.

Etymology

The term general agent comes from general (meaning 'many kinds' or 'broad') and agent (a person who acts for someone). So, a general agent is a person given wide power to handle many business tasks, like signing papers and making decisions for another person.