Definition of "typify" [typ•i•fy]

• To serve as a typical example of; embody the essential characteristics of: a painting that typifies the artist's work. (verb-transitive)
• To represent by an image, a form, or a model; symbolize or prefigure. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Abbott's calls typify "his tendency to go too far," Gillard said Jan. 28 at a news conference in Melbourne."
• "Within a short time, a feeling of being adrift also seems to typify most abused people."
• "Public sector workers -- teachers and also nurses, firefighters, paramedics, psychological counselors, surveyors, assessors, just for starters -- typify the skilled workforce that the post-war public university helped to make solidly middle class."