represent

take the place of or be parallel or equivalent to

• “Because of the sound changes in the course of history, an”
• “in Greek stands for an”
• “in Latin”

express indirectly by an image, form, or model; be a symbol

• “What does the Statue of Liberty symbolize?”

be representative or typical for

• “This period is represented by Beethoven”

be a delegate or spokesperson for; represent somebody's interest or be a proxy or substitute for, as of politicians and office holders representing their constituents, or of a tenant representing other tenants in a housing dispute

• “I represent the silent majority”

serve as a means of expressing something

• “The flower represents a young girl”

be characteristic of

• “This compositional style is exemplified by this fugue”

form or compose

• “This money is my only income”
• “The stone wall was the backdrop for the performance”
• “These constitute my entire belonging”
• “The children made up the chorus”
• “This sum represents my entire income for a year”
• “These few men comprise his entire army”

be the defense counsel for someone in a trial

• “Ms. Smith will represent the defendant”

create an image or likeness of

• “The painter represented his wife as a young girl”

play a role or part

• “Gielgud played Hamlet”
• “She wants to act Lady Macbeth, but she is too young for the role”
• “She played the servant to her husband”

perform (a play), especially on a stage

• “we are going to stage”
• “'”

describe or present, usually with respect to a particular quality

• “He represented this book as an example of the Russian 19th century novel”

point out or draw attention to in protest or remonstrance

• “our parents represented to us the need for more caution”

bring forward and present to the mind

• “We presented the arguments to him”
• “We cannot represent this knowledge to our formal reason”

to establish a mapping (of mathematical elements or sets)