proxy.

1. An indirect measure used to stand in for a feature that is difficult to observe directly.

2. A person authorized to act or vote for someone else.

3. Authorization, often recorded in a document, for another person to act or vote on one's behalf.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• proxy for wealth
• imperfect proxy
• vote by proxy

On the page

Book ownership is an imperfect proxy for access to learning resources.

The organization permitted members abroad to vote by proxy.

Nighttime lighting can serve as a proxy for economic activity, but not for every kind of work.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic. A proxy may be correlated with the target without capturing it fully. State both the measure and what it represents. The representative sense is distinct. Singular: proxy; plural: proxies.