represent

take the place of or be parallel or equivalent to; "Because of the sound changes in the course of history, an 'h' in Greek stands for an 's' 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"

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's master"

perform (a play), especially on a stage; "we are going to stage `Othello'"

bring forward and present to the mind; "We presented the arguments to him"; "We cannot represent this knowledge to our formal reason"