represent

play a role or part“Gielgud played Hamlet”

express indirectly by an image, form, or model; be a symbol“What does the Statue of Liberty symbolize?”

form or compose“This money is my only income”

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”

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”

be typical of“This compositional style is exemplified by this fugue”

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”

to establish a mapping (of mathematical elements or sets)

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”

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”